p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""And then the prince and princess lived happily ever after."br /"Daddy, that story is boring and you read it all the time."br /"Tell you what, tomorrow we'll go to the bookstore and you can choose some new books."br /"Okay! Goodnight, daddy."br /"Goodnight, Eren." Grisha Yeager softly closed the door as he watched his son drift into a sweet slumber. He peered into his own bedroom to see his wife, Carla, already in a deep rest, barely budging when he laid down beside /"Eren asleep?"br /"Yes, love. I'm taking him to the bookstore tomorrow. He hates the one I always read to him about the prince saving the princess."br /"I do too."br /"Goodnight love."br /"Mm. Goodnight Grisha."/p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /The car slowly turned into the driveway, its brakes whispering a screech. The driver lifted the mask over his face and unholstered his gun. He turned to his boss, awaiting his /"Calm and classy, gentlemen."br /The second henchman in the back seat unraveled the cloth shielding an axe, its sheen glistening from the illuminating moonlight. Its silver would soon be painted in /"Let's go," the boss announced. Henchman 1 meticulously picked the lock on the front door and took care to step gently on the floor to avoid any creaks that could await the /"Now now lads, let's have some fun with this one. I'm in a festive mood! By the way sonny, get the buckets," he requested of Henchman 2. He maneuvered his way through the living room, admiring the pictures of the happy family of three. His fingertips traced the face of the mother. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oh what beauty you bestow./spanbr /His eyes settled on the son. Young. Jovial. Cute. Prey. He hummed as he approached an expensive looking vase occupied by beautiful /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oh what fun this will bring./spanbr /His bony fingers swiped at the glass vase, shattering it on the ground. "Show time," he bubbly announced as his henchmen readied themselves./p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.234px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"Grisha, what was that?" Carla stirred suddenly while yanking the covers off of /"Something crashed," he responded while pulling the covers back over his /"Go check on Eren!" He groggily mopped to his son's room. A small peering through the cracked door showed the boy still lost in his slumber. Carla appeared behind him, visibly /Grisha patted her shoulder. "I'll go see what fell."br /"Be careful."br /He hadn't taken two steps down the stairs when he felt an ominous presence downstairs. He gulped as he descended the rest, scaling the wall for a /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"What?/spanbr /He found his hand bent backwards with a piece of cloth shoved into his mouth. His glasses fell off his face during his struggle. His eyes only met with darkness as he felt the first full impact of a blunt object shattering his knees. He moaned out in pain as he collapsed to the floor, scraping the ground to escape with his good arm. His hand came into contact with what felt like a boot. From the glimmer of the stars, he could make out a masked figure hovering over him. The intruder brought the bat again down and crushed his fingers, sending shockwaves through /"Now now. Let him suffer a bit, Blondie. Don't kill him off so fast" the boss recommended. Grisha's eyes grew hazy as he tried to scream for his wife and son to /"G-Grisha? Is everything okay down there?"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"No no no please don't come down here Carla./spanbr /"Grisha, answer me!"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"God save us!/spanbr /"Mommy, what's wrong?"br /"Eren, go wait in your room and lock the door. Mommy will be right back." With each step, Grisha wailed desperately to warn her. All was in vain as the second henchmen emerged from the shadows and tackled her to the /"Okay fellas, lights!" Blondie flipped the switch. To her horror, Carla stared at her husband, face vexed in pain and his cloth gag soaked in blood. His eyes pleaded with hers, begging her to live so Eren could escape. What a vain /"Okay Mouse. You know what to do." Boss signaled. The second henchman tugged on Carla's head by her hair, practicing the swing of his ax. Grisha tussled on the ground, inching towards her until the brawny bastard that assailed him smacked the bat down against his spine. A clean snap echoed through the room, tossing a vicious sob into the air from Carla. Blondie continued to bash the bat into Grisha until the poor man until his face has hidden behind a mask of bloody and bruised /"Don't worry lovely, this'll only hurt till you die," Boss said as he gave an animalistic smile as he waited for the final swoosh of the /"God save me. God save my husband. God save my child!"br /Mouse tapped her neck with the /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Drip. Drip./spanbr /He swung the weapon through the /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Pour./spanbr /Grisha's wails were silenced by the gunshot to his head. The boss poked at him with his /"Nice shot, Blondie." He scanned the room walked over to the family portrait again. The once black and white portrait was now stained with a reddish hue. He traced his fingers through it, tainting it even /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"How lovely./spanbr /"Take care of business, lads. I'll fetch the kid." Boss crept up the stairs as he approached the room labeled as 'Eren.' He tapped on the door and listened for stirring on the other side. He kicked the door and sauntered in. No sight of the kid. He moseyed over to the closet, opening it to fearful eyes. Eren stared back at the apparition of malice in his closet /"Hey, Eren. Your mommy and daddy had an accident so I'm going to take you some place safe."br /"I don't want to go with you," he protested through /"That's too bad." One quick hit to his temple and Eren was out. He threw the boy over his shoulder and met with his /"I'm getting too old for this. Let's go before the cops show up. You get it all?" Mouse nodded. "Okay, Blondie, drive carefully then. Don't want to lose my precious cargo," he cautioned while smiling at the buckets./p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Sergeant Erwin Smith pulled up to the Yeagar house with a grim expression. The unit chief, Mike Zacharias, stated that this was the most horrific crime scene he had ever witnessed. Erwin took a deep breath then approached the house. His rookie partner, Jean Kirstein, was hovering over a garbage can vomiting his insides out. The unmistakable stench of death hit Erwin like a bullet and he gagged. His staggered over to his partner, offering him a /"Erwin…it's inhumane. I couldn't stay in there. Too much blood." He cut his sentences short as he hacked up again. Erwin gazed into the house. Mike could be seen with a fervid look of distress in his eyes. Erwin stepped through the doorway. Oh how he wished he hadn' /The male victim had been beaten so severely that patches of his skin were missing. The gag in his mouth was glued to his bloody gums. The female victim…it was too /"Erwin, breathe," Mike urged as he patted his back to exit the house for the /"Mike, the sick bastard cut her up. For god's sake, he mutilated her!"br /"Erwin, compose yourself."br /"Fuck."br /"It gets worse." He pointed to the medical examiner, Dr. Ymir. She noticed them and waved them /"I wish I could have seen you under better circumstances, Sergeant Smith."br /"It can't get worse than what I just saw."br /She nodded. "Cause of death for the woman was blood loss and dismemberment. Cause of death for the man was a gunshot wound to the head. Through the back and out the front. I won't know any extensive details until I do an autopsy."br /"Shit."br /"And their son is missing."br /Erwin felt a brick hit his chest. "Chief, it's the same MO as the other homicide/kidnapping cases. This kid is the fourth one to be kidnapped."br /Mike sighed. "Dammit. We haven't even found the other missing kids yet and now we have another!"br /"Jean, get over here," Erwin commanded. The rookie stumbled over as he clutched his /"Interview the neighbors. See if they knew about the Yeager family. Any enemies, out of the ordinary behavior, anything."br /"Got it."br /Erwin looked back at the house. Mike watched him and shoved him slightly. "And you get back in there, Erwin."br /"Why don't you?"br /"Because I've seen enough for the rest of my life. Take a detailed report because you'll be up for the next two days."br /"What about the kid?"br /"There's a specialized unit being made to trace him. Your job is nailing the sick fucker who's instigating these."br /"As long as I can kill him." Mike scowled and stepped up to /"Make sure he suffers first."/p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Where am i?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Erwin started back at the house in front of him, registering his current location./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm…back at the crime scene?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The house had a malevolent aura surrounding it, beckoning all who enter an easy entry into hell. Erwin cautiously made his way up the stairs, each step feeling as though they are being cradled by demented forces. He entered the house, the door screeching loudly as the metallic copper smell of blood rushed his nostrils. He pressed his sleeve to his nose. A foggy haze floated throughout the room./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I can barely see in here."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"There was no furniture, no wall décor, only a pair of lone glasses in the middle of the room. Erwin crept over and plucked them off of the ground./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Don't these belong to the father?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He turned them around in his hands, running his finger along the engraved temple. Grisha./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He brought the glasses up to his eyes. His vision cleared instantly./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I can see just fine, why the hell would I need glass-" He screamed as the glasses latched onto his face, digging into his temples as blood trickled down his face. He pulled and yanked with all of his might to no avail as he felt the temples fusing into his scalp. He furiously ran to the door but it shut in his face. He pounded and threw his body against it. A slight slimmer of the outside world was visible as he rammed himself again./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Help me!" He spun around to see a bloody, mangled arm reach towards him./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Please save my child. Save my Eren." The mother was pleading, her clotted tears staining the ground red./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Jesus Christ, get me out of here!" Eren yelled louder as he took to punching the door. If it wouldn't open, it would have to break./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why aren't you helping him? Why?" Her wails filled the air as Erwin fell to ground, covering his ears and drowning her out with his own sobs. He gasped as the room grew silent. He slowly looked up. A little boy was staring back at him. Scared. Soiled. Sorrowed. He pointed his finger at Erwin, eyes turning coal black with rage./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why haven't you found me yet?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm trying."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why haven't you found us yet?" Three more younger children appeared next to Eren. "Why haven't you found us yet?" The question turned into a bitter chorus that shook Erwin to his core./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Get me the fuck out of here!" He bashed on the door again as the children's cries filled the air./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I want to go home!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I want my mommy!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I don't want to be locked in the cage anymore!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I don't want to die!"/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /*ring ring ring*br /"What?" The sound of the doorbell brought Erwin back to reality. He'd fallen asleep while looking over the crime scene photos. After two days of no sleep and the crime scene becoming his second home, he considered himself going /*ring ring ring*br /"Who…who is it?"br /"It's me, Jean. I brought some documents over."br /Erwin trudged over to the door, clutching his scalp, searching for any remnants of the nightmare he just /"You look like hell," Jean commented as Erwin /"The neighbors have a surveillance system so we were able to catch some things." He sat down at the coffee table. "I have the video from their feeds but…"br /"But?"br /"Sgt. Smith…how many kids have to go missing until we hit a break in this case?"br /Erwin stared at his partner. Jean was a rookie cop with a bad temper. He was almost kicked out of the force due to a confrontation with a fellow recruit. The only reason his ass was covered was because Erwin saw potential in him. Since he became a sergeant, the workload and case authority had picked up and he was in desperate need for a partner. And…this is what he was given. As emotional and unstable as Jean could be sometimes, Erwin found it necessary to have someone who had the ability to be empathetic, something that he had lost years /"I don't know Jean, but we won't let those bastards take any more kids."br /"Right! Oh, here's the video. Let's take a look."br /Erwin jotted down notes. Three henchmen. Weapons of choice were an axe, a bat, and a pistol. There was nothing major sticking out to them. After replaying the video several times, they gave /"All we know for sure is that the kid still might be alive," Erwin /"I wish that made me feel better," Jean whispered. "I mean they got in the car like it was nothing! No remorse! No, shit, anything!"br /"They're killers, Jean. They have to be that way." He looked at his younger partner, shaking in anger. "Go home, get some rest. We still have a lot of work to do." Jean /Erwin sighed as the door slammed. He was too tired to look through the photos again and too scared to go back to sleep. There was only one thing he could do./p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /The jazz music hummed in the background as he entered his favorite bar, the Dusky Rose. His eyes scanned the room for the antidote to his current woes. His eyes landed on the scowling bartender shaking a /"Evening, Levi."br /"It's late. Go home."br /Erwin plopped down across the bar from him and adjusted his collar. "I hope I don't smell like death because that's how I feel."br /"Erwin, we're-"br /"I need the strongest thing you have." That was all that he needed to say in order for Levi to understand his present state of /"Long night?"br /"Another case of the butchered parents and the stolen kid. I don't think I can sleep tonight after that crime scene."br /Levi motioned for the manager to start shooing people out of the bar. It was one thing for everyone to mosey around like it was their living quarters, but it was another for them to hear the grotesque details of the epidemic lining Erwin's desk. After getting the last two customers out, Levi handed him a cup of /"I saw it on the news. Talk to me," Levi /"I don't think you want to know."br /"Well, you aren't going to go to a shrink, so you might as well tell me, asshole."br /Erwin took a big gulp and slammed the cup on the /He… dismembered the mother. The father was beaten to death with a blunt object. Over 20 impact points. Gunshot wound to the head took him out. Both of them were exsanguinated."br /A flash of nausea showered over Levi as he quickly took a shot of bourbon to mask his /"And the kid?"br /"Five years old. Eren /"Erwin."br /"I don't need a fucking shrink. I just need alcohol and you. Come over night."br /Levi couldn't decipher if it was a suggestion or a command. He silently nodded as he went to the back of the bar to gather his /"I'm not having sex with you tonight. I'm still pissed about last time. You were so drunk, you nearly tore my ass apart," he reminisced /"I apologized the next day."br /"After I held a knife to your throat, you shitty cop."br /Erwin smiled. "But you're still coming by the looks of it."br /"Shut up. If I don't monitor you, you'll drink yourself to death. Then no one will catch that bastard. So, police car or taxi to your house, Mr. Officer?"/p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /The car slowly turned into the driveway, its brakes whispering a screech. The driver lifted the mask over his face and unholstered his gun. He turned to his boss, awaiting his /"Calm and classy, gentlemen."br /The second henchman in the back seat unraveled the cloth shielding an axe, its sheen glistening from the illuminating moonlight. Its silver would soon be painted in /"Let's go," the boss announced. Henchman 1 meticulously picked the lock on the front door and took care to step gently on the floor to avoid any creaks that could await the /"Now now lads, let's have some fun with this one. I'm in a festive mood! By the way sonny, get the buckets," he requested of Henchman 2. He maneuvered his way through the living room, admiring the pictures of the happy family of three. His fingertips traced the face of the mother. span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oh what beauty you bestow./spanbr /His eyes settled on the son. Young. Jovial. Cute. Prey. He hummed as he approached an expensive looking vase occupied by beautiful /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oh what fun this will bring./spanbr /His bony fingers swiped at the glass vase, shattering it on the ground. "Show time," he bubbly announced as his henchmen readied themselves./p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.234px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"Grisha, what was that?" Carla stirred suddenly while yanking the covers off of /"Something crashed," he responded while pulling the covers back over his /"Go check on Eren!" He groggily mopped to his son's room. A small peering through the cracked door showed the boy still lost in his slumber. Carla appeared behind him, visibly /Grisha patted her shoulder. "I'll go see what fell."br /"Be careful."br /He hadn't taken two steps down the stairs when he felt an ominous presence downstairs. He gulped as he descended the rest, scaling the wall for a /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"What?/spanbr /He found his hand bent backwards with a piece of cloth shoved into his mouth. His glasses fell off his face during his struggle. His eyes only met with darkness as he felt the first full impact of a blunt object shattering his knees. He moaned out in pain as he collapsed to the floor, scraping the ground to escape with his good arm. His hand came into contact with what felt like a boot. From the glimmer of the stars, he could make out a masked figure hovering over him. The intruder brought the bat again down and crushed his fingers, sending shockwaves through /"Now now. Let him suffer a bit, Blondie. Don't kill him off so fast" the boss recommended. Grisha's eyes grew hazy as he tried to scream for his wife and son to /"G-Grisha? Is everything okay down there?"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"No no no please don't come down here Carla./spanbr /"Grisha, answer me!"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"God save us!/spanbr /"Mommy, what's wrong?"br /"Eren, go wait in your room and lock the door. Mommy will be right back." With each step, Grisha wailed desperately to warn her. All was in vain as the second henchmen emerged from the shadows and tackled her to the /"Okay fellas, lights!" Blondie flipped the switch. To her horror, Carla stared at her husband, face vexed in pain and his cloth gag soaked in blood. His eyes pleaded with hers, begging her to live so Eren could escape. What a vain /"Okay Mouse. You know what to do." Boss signaled. The second henchman tugged on Carla's head by her hair, practicing the swing of his ax. Grisha tussled on the ground, inching towards her until the brawny bastard that assailed him smacked the bat down against his spine. A clean snap echoed through the room, tossing a vicious sob into the air from Carla. Blondie continued to bash the bat into Grisha until the poor man until his face has hidden behind a mask of bloody and bruised /"Don't worry lovely, this'll only hurt till you die," Boss said as he gave an animalistic smile as he waited for the final swoosh of the /"God save me. God save my husband. God save my child!"br /Mouse tapped her neck with the /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Drip. Drip./spanbr /He swung the weapon through the /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Pour./spanbr /Grisha's wails were silenced by the gunshot to his head. The boss poked at him with his /"Nice shot, Blondie." He scanned the room walked over to the family portrait again. The once black and white portrait was now stained with a reddish hue. He traced his fingers through it, tainting it even /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"How lovely./spanbr /"Take care of business, lads. I'll fetch the kid." Boss crept up the stairs as he approached the room labeled as 'Eren.' He tapped on the door and listened for stirring on the other side. He kicked the door and sauntered in. No sight of the kid. He moseyed over to the closet, opening it to fearful eyes. Eren stared back at the apparition of malice in his closet /"Hey, Eren. Your mommy and daddy had an accident so I'm going to take you some place safe."br /"I don't want to go with you," he protested through /"That's too bad." One quick hit to his temple and Eren was out. He threw the boy over his shoulder and met with his /"I'm getting too old for this. Let's go before the cops show up. You get it all?" Mouse nodded. "Okay, Blondie, drive carefully then. Don't want to lose my precious cargo," he cautioned while smiling at the buckets./p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Sergeant Erwin Smith pulled up to the Yeagar house with a grim expression. The unit chief, Mike Zacharias, stated that this was the most horrific crime scene he had ever witnessed. Erwin took a deep breath then approached the house. His rookie partner, Jean Kirstein, was hovering over a garbage can vomiting his insides out. The unmistakable stench of death hit Erwin like a bullet and he gagged. His staggered over to his partner, offering him a /"Erwin…it's inhumane. I couldn't stay in there. Too much blood." He cut his sentences short as he hacked up again. Erwin gazed into the house. Mike could be seen with a fervid look of distress in his eyes. Erwin stepped through the doorway. Oh how he wished he hadn' /The male victim had been beaten so severely that patches of his skin were missing. The gag in his mouth was glued to his bloody gums. The female victim…it was too /"Erwin, breathe," Mike urged as he patted his back to exit the house for the /"Mike, the sick bastard cut her up. For god's sake, he mutilated her!"br /"Erwin, compose yourself."br /"Fuck."br /"It gets worse." He pointed to the medical examiner, Dr. Ymir. She noticed them and waved them /"I wish I could have seen you under better circumstances, Sergeant Smith."br /"It can't get worse than what I just saw."br /She nodded. "Cause of death for the woman was blood loss and dismemberment. Cause of death for the man was a gunshot wound to the head. Through the back and out the front. I won't know any extensive details until I do an autopsy."br /"Shit."br /"And their son is missing."br /Erwin felt a brick hit his chest. "Chief, it's the same MO as the other homicide/kidnapping cases. This kid is the fourth one to be kidnapped."br /Mike sighed. "Dammit. We haven't even found the other missing kids yet and now we have another!"br /"Jean, get over here," Erwin commanded. The rookie stumbled over as he clutched his /"Interview the neighbors. See if they knew about the Yeager family. Any enemies, out of the ordinary behavior, anything."br /"Got it."br /Erwin looked back at the house. Mike watched him and shoved him slightly. "And you get back in there, Erwin."br /"Why don't you?"br /"Because I've seen enough for the rest of my life. Take a detailed report because you'll be up for the next two days."br /"What about the kid?"br /"There's a specialized unit being made to trace him. Your job is nailing the sick fucker who's instigating these."br /"As long as I can kill him." Mike scowled and stepped up to /"Make sure he suffers first."/p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Where am i?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Erwin started back at the house in front of him, registering his current location./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm…back at the crime scene?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The house had a malevolent aura surrounding it, beckoning all who enter an easy entry into hell. Erwin cautiously made his way up the stairs, each step feeling as though they are being cradled by demented forces. He entered the house, the door screeching loudly as the metallic copper smell of blood rushed his nostrils. He pressed his sleeve to his nose. A foggy haze floated throughout the room./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I can barely see in here."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"There was no furniture, no wall décor, only a pair of lone glasses in the middle of the room. Erwin crept over and plucked them off of the ground./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Don't these belong to the father?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He turned them around in his hands, running his finger along the engraved temple. Grisha./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He brought the glasses up to his eyes. His vision cleared instantly./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I can see just fine, why the hell would I need glass-" He screamed as the glasses latched onto his face, digging into his temples as blood trickled down his face. He pulled and yanked with all of his might to no avail as he felt the temples fusing into his scalp. He furiously ran to the door but it shut in his face. He pounded and threw his body against it. A slight slimmer of the outside world was visible as he rammed himself again./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Help me!" He spun around to see a bloody, mangled arm reach towards him./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Please save my child. Save my Eren." The mother was pleading, her clotted tears staining the ground red./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Jesus Christ, get me out of here!" Eren yelled louder as he took to punching the door. If it wouldn't open, it would have to break./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why aren't you helping him? Why?" Her wails filled the air as Erwin fell to ground, covering his ears and drowning her out with his own sobs. He gasped as the room grew silent. He slowly looked up. A little boy was staring back at him. Scared. Soiled. Sorrowed. He pointed his finger at Erwin, eyes turning coal black with rage./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why haven't you found me yet?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm trying."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Why haven't you found us yet?" Three more younger children appeared next to Eren. "Why haven't you found us yet?" The question turned into a bitter chorus that shook Erwin to his core./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Get me the fuck out of here!" He bashed on the door again as the children's cries filled the air./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I want to go home!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I want my mommy!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I don't want to be locked in the cage anymore!"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I don't want to die!"/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /*ring ring ring*br /"What?" The sound of the doorbell brought Erwin back to reality. He'd fallen asleep while looking over the crime scene photos. After two days of no sleep and the crime scene becoming his second home, he considered himself going /*ring ring ring*br /"Who…who is it?"br /"It's me, Jean. I brought some documents over."br /Erwin trudged over to the door, clutching his scalp, searching for any remnants of the nightmare he just /"You look like hell," Jean commented as Erwin /"The neighbors have a surveillance system so we were able to catch some things." He sat down at the coffee table. "I have the video from their feeds but…"br /"But?"br /"Sgt. Smith…how many kids have to go missing until we hit a break in this case?"br /Erwin stared at his partner. Jean was a rookie cop with a bad temper. He was almost kicked out of the force due to a confrontation with a fellow recruit. The only reason his ass was covered was because Erwin saw potential in him. Since he became a sergeant, the workload and case authority had picked up and he was in desperate need for a partner. And…this is what he was given. As emotional and unstable as Jean could be sometimes, Erwin found it necessary to have someone who had the ability to be empathetic, something that he had lost years /"I don't know Jean, but we won't let those bastards take any more kids."br /"Right! Oh, here's the video. Let's take a look."br /Erwin jotted down notes. Three henchmen. Weapons of choice were an axe, a bat, and a pistol. There was nothing major sticking out to them. After replaying the video several times, they gave /"All we know for sure is that the kid still might be alive," Erwin /"I wish that made me feel better," Jean whispered. "I mean they got in the car like it was nothing! No remorse! No, shit, anything!"br /"They're killers, Jean. They have to be that way." He looked at his younger partner, shaking in anger. "Go home, get some rest. We still have a lot of work to do." Jean /Erwin sighed as the door slammed. He was too tired to look through the photos again and too scared to go back to sleep. There was only one thing he could do./p
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p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /The jazz music hummed in the background as he entered his favorite bar, the Dusky Rose. His eyes scanned the room for the antidote to his current woes. His eyes landed on the scowling bartender shaking a /"Evening, Levi."br /"It's late. Go home."br /Erwin plopped down across the bar from him and adjusted his collar. "I hope I don't smell like death because that's how I feel."br /"Erwin, we're-"br /"I need the strongest thing you have." That was all that he needed to say in order for Levi to understand his present state of /"Long night?"br /"Another case of the butchered parents and the stolen kid. I don't think I can sleep tonight after that crime scene."br /Levi motioned for the manager to start shooing people out of the bar. It was one thing for everyone to mosey around like it was their living quarters, but it was another for them to hear the grotesque details of the epidemic lining Erwin's desk. After getting the last two customers out, Levi handed him a cup of /"I saw it on the news. Talk to me," Levi /"I don't think you want to know."br /"Well, you aren't going to go to a shrink, so you might as well tell me, asshole."br /Erwin took a big gulp and slammed the cup on the /He… dismembered the mother. The father was beaten to death with a blunt object. Over 20 impact points. Gunshot wound to the head took him out. Both of them were exsanguinated."br /A flash of nausea showered over Levi as he quickly took a shot of bourbon to mask his /"And the kid?"br /"Five years old. Eren /"Erwin."br /"I don't need a fucking shrink. I just need alcohol and you. Come over night."br /Levi couldn't decipher if it was a suggestion or a command. He silently nodded as he went to the back of the bar to gather his /"I'm not having sex with you tonight. I'm still pissed about last time. You were so drunk, you nearly tore my ass apart," he reminisced /"I apologized the next day."br /"After I held a knife to your throat, you shitty cop."br /Erwin smiled. "But you're still coming by the looks of it."br /"Shut up. If I don't monitor you, you'll drink yourself to death. Then no one will catch that bastard. So, police car or taxi to your house, Mr. Officer?"/p