The front gate welcomes dozens of children, all waving to their parents or siblings as they leave for another day of school. It's almost impossible to be left to one's thoughts as dozens of people are talking.
"Have a good day, sweetie!"
"Take care, son!"
These are just two of the many words being spoken. Within the wave of people and voices stand two young people, a man and a woman. The man is eighteen years old with thick yet short black hair that compliments his hazel eyes. He dons a red short-sleeved t-shirt that's hiding beneath a leather jacket. Along with his dark red trousers with a chain, his biker look is in full force. Beside him is a seven year old girl that shares his hazel eyes but differs with black hair that's at a mid-length and styled to the side. She's wearing blue jeans with a long white shirt, emulating a skirt since it goes past her pelvis. Of course, she had a backpack hoisted on her.
He accompanied her to the gate and once in front of her gave him a hug, which he returned immediately.
"You don't forget what we said. If the other kids say nasty things..." The young man started.
"I don't pay attention to them and if they bother me, I talk to the teacher." The girl finished, before being ruffled by the young man.
"Exactly. I see you again after class." The young man said.
"Okay, tonight, Ethan." Said the little girl before leaving in the yard, giving the name of the young man.
Once he saw the little girl into the school, he felt as if someone was watching him. On instinct, he looked to his left where he locked eyes with a beautiful young woman that looked to be about his age. She had flowing platinum blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes that rival the sky. In addition, she's wearing light blue jeans and a purple turtleneck sweater, along with white gloves and a bag that definitely belongs to a high school student.
As soon as she saw that he noticed it, she looked away and walked to the school.
The young man shrugged before steered it towards a black Mercedes-AMG GT and entered it before starting and going to a strange crime scene. It was an apartment all that is normal, but with two crime scenes, according to the police officer who called him this morning. One in the basement and one in one of the many rooms of the apartment.
He descended into the basement, followed by some people who they vomited almost immediately.
"Come on, we haven't even seen the bodies and you're already vomiting?" Ethan scolded, unfazed by the sight of others throwing up.
"What? You can't smell that?" One barely managed to say before noticing bits of the sandwich he ate this morning.
"My senses aren't quite as keen as yours... some of them are practically missing," he nonchalantly explained while continuing down the stairs and to the door that hides the scene.
Hundreds of decomposed rat carcass with soil covered with dried blood and a human corpse, much of which appeared devoured leaving bloody bones and the brain in the skull while several policemen wearing a mask to feel the least odor smell the corpse while taking samples.
"No wonder they vomited." Ethan said advancing towards one of the policemen. "So, what kind of information do you have about that?" Ethan asked.
"Obviously, all the rat corpses are not dated yesterday. A person seems to have been kidnapped here for months, someone must have been locking up here for months or years and only had rats to feed on." Explained one of the policemen.
"And where is the person who was locked up?" Ethan asked.
"We do not know, but we think it's related to the second crime scene. Come, I'll take you there." The policeman said before bringing Ethan into the room that was the second crime scene.
This second crime scene is the victim's apartment, in which we can see in the kitchen remains of different bodies, human or animal.
"What kind of fool did you come across? And why did you appeal to me if it's just a crazy cannibal? Ethan said.
"Because if you believe this notebook, it's because of the thing that was in the basement, before it devours it and it escapes and hides." Answered a policeman, giving him a notebook.
Ethan sat down and read the entire notebook before closing it with wide eyes.
"... Fuck, I've seen some crazy, but he's breaking records." Ethan said.
"Do you understand why we called on you? You are a specialist in this kind of business. It's even asked if you found the fountain of youth or not." A policeman said with humor on the end.
"If I had found that, it would be. But to come back to this thing, do you have any idea where to find that "thing"." Ethan asked.
"No. But during the night we will organize a fight with several groups of 5 on foot during the night around 19 hours to find and arrested." Explained a policeman with an outfit similar to Gordon's in The Dark Knight.
"Okay. I will find a Babysitter and I will help you. Contact me when the fight starts." Ethan said, nodding at the policemen before leaving the apartment to his car.
He spent more than 20 minutes calling all the babysitters he knew, but either they had an appointment tonight or they were already caring for someone's children.
"Oh hell, and with such a creature in freedom, I can not afford the unattended at home. Well, I'm going to search as much of the city as I can before she finishes her day and I'll see what I do." Ethan said to himself before thinking about where to look for the thing.
He spent his whole day rummaging through all the dark places in the apartment neighborhood hoping to find the thing mentioned in the notebook, without finding anything. Then he arrived with a ten minute delay in front of the gate where the little girl was talking to the young woman that he saw the man observed this morning and a younger woman with red hair wearing a t-shirt. green shirt with a black jacket wearing jeans. He could easily see that the little girl enjoyed talking to the two young women.
He parked and got out of the car, making his presence known to the little girl before she came to him and knelt down to take her in his arms.
"So, you had a good day?" Ethan asked.
"Yes, I did as you told me and they did not bother me." The smiling little girl said.
"It's awesome." Ethan says proud of the little girl.
"Could you pick me up more often at this hour? I really like talking with Elsa and Anna." Said the little girl excited to talk to the two young women giving their name.
"We'll talk about it a little later, okay. You can wait for me in the car please." Ethan asked what the little girl is doing before Ethan goes to the two young women.
"I'm really sorry if it bothered you. I was caught in traffic jams and thank you for taking care of her during my delay." Ethan said thanking the two young women.
"Don't worry, Eva is a cute little girl. And then we are used with children we are Babysitter and more so we are happy to take care of children." The young woman said.
In Ethan's head, Händel Messiah's Hallelujah music was played in the face of this stroke of luck.
"Reall?" He asked to be sure of what he heard.
"Yes, oh and my name is Elsa and she is my sister Anna." Said the blonde young woman giving Ethan their name.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Ethan. And tell me you're busy tonight." Ethan asked while introducing himself to the young women.
"No, really, we just have some homework to do for high school. Why?" Elsa thought, wondering why he was asking for that.
"Well, I will not be able to take care of Eva from 19:00 tonight so I would like to know if you could come to my house to take care of Eva in my absence? I have already asked all the babysitter I know and all are busy." Ethan asked without hiding that they are his last chance.
"Yes of course. In this case it does not bother you just give the address and we will be there on time." Anna said with a nod from Elsa.
"Okay, thank you here was my address. Then at 20 o'clock. Ethan said giving them a paper with his address before greeting the two sisters before leaving for his car and enter it before starting it.
"What were you discussing with Elsa and Anna?" Eva asked.
"I'm going to have some work with the police tonight. So when they told me they are Babysitter, I asked them if she could keep you for the night." Ethan explained a smile that drawn on Eva's face.
"Really?" Eva asked with a broad smile.
"Yeah. You will have to be wise. Okay." Ethan said, continuing to roll.
"Yes." Eva said.
Several hours later in Ethan's house as he read a book about different supernatural creatures, with Eva looking at something on a tablet.
"Say, are you investigating what happened in the apartment on the other side of town?" Eva asked.
"How do you know that?" Ethan asked, releasing his attention from the book.
"It's written in an article. Viewing." Eva said, handing her the tablet.
"In an apartment on Hawk Street, many body was found in the bedroom of a person suffering from psychopathy, having left his notes in a macabre story suggesting that a creature feeding on human flesh was in the cellar from his apartment. The police think that he invented the story in the notebook that was handed to them, and that in reality he sequestered, killed, and devoured several people before fleeing to the city in search of a new victim. The police are organizing a beat tonight to find him before he causes more death, if you live near the apartment at home and locked all your doors and windows." Ethan said reading the article visible on the tablet wondering how a journalist could have the information.
"That's why you will not be here tonight?" Eva asked.
"Yes. Obviously the journalist to change the information to make it credible. But otherwise, it's true. Which is another reason for you not to be here alone, okay." Ethan said hoping not to worry Eva.
"And what if we get here?" Eva asked frightened.
"We are too far away for him to come. I will find it and stop it from hurting people." Ethan said putting a hand on Eva's shoulder to reassure him before the doorbell rang.
Ethan got up and went to the door to see Elsa and Anna.
"Hi, come in. Thank you again for accepting." Ethan greeted leaving the two young women in.
"It's nothing. It's our pleasure." Anna said.
"Okay. You have enough food to do what you want. She must go to bed around 9:30 pm. And with what's going on, let the doors and window close. If not, I entrust you with the house." Ethan said giving precise indication.
"Okay, but could I ask you a question?" Elsa asked.
"Sorry, I do not have time, you'll ask me tomorrow." Ethan said before quickly getting out while leaving a duplicate keys in case in the house before taking his car and joining the police a rally of about thirty policeman in front of the police station while the commissioner started a speech to explain what he is looking for.
"We are looking for what appears to be a withered old woman with skin is gray skinny to the point of resembling a corpse. His ribs and the bones of his elbows protrude. His fingernails are black and broken. His skull is dotted with tufts of long, white hair, extremely fine. The entire front quarter of the right side of his head is devoid of skin. His bone protrudes, surrounded by rims of rotten black flesh. His eyes have no eyelids, and are only two big, glistening black balls, sunk into his skull. She does not have a nose either, yet the shape of the hole she has instead suggests that there should be one. And she has no lips, and only a few big broken teeth, yellow or black, and very spaced questions?" Asked the commissioner describing the thing according to what is said in the notebook.
"Yes, why did you fight for what looks like a horrible creature instead of letting Ethan look for her? He is a bit of a specialist in this field." Asked a policeman pointing a finger Ethan.
"Because this thing eats human flesh, so to find it faster before there are dead we will all look at different parts of the city in groups of 5. Except Ethan which will remain in the perimeter of the apartment where the bodies were found in case, he will find something that escapes us. Other questions ?" Said the Commissioner before making a short pause before seeing that nobody wants to ask a question now. "Well, then, Ethan is leaving now to start researching your side while the teams are forming. Contact us, if you find it." Said the commissioner before Ethan nods and takes his car before leaving for the apartment where the crime scenes are.
Once there, he saw something that normal people could not see. To us the surrounding colors become faded and he could see traces of blood gleaming in the dark. He followed the trail of blood until he came to a park to see something corresponding to the description made by the commissioner, devouring the body of a ferociously plucked pigeon.
"Okay, go. We try the pacifist approach and if it does not work, plan B." Ethan said to himself before pointing out his presence to the thing that recoiled slightly before Ethan got down on his knees.
The thing was what one could see being a frightened look holding the corpse of the pigeon like a child holding his teddy bear while Ethan held out his right hand that turned into a bird-like deer hand with below the wrist what seems to be a pair of wings.
"You do not have to be afraid. I too am special." Started Ethan softly. "We are both similar, we have differences that we hide from others. I can help you hide. But for that, you have to trust me." He said wanting to make clear to the thing he wants to help him.
The thing began to approach slowly but always with suspicion.
"If they find you, they will kill you. Let me help you." He said as the thing continued to approach him, beginning to gain confidence, until he came close to him and rested his head on his shoulder while hugging him like a frightened child. "I am here, not afraid. I know a place where you will be safe most of the time. You will have more rat to feed you. And nobody will come to you. I promise." Ethan said before guiding her to a manhole and managed to pull her down and gently lower her down to the bottom with a pair of red wings that pushed her down her back.
Once on the ground he helped the thing gently and she sniffed the air, not smelling the foul odor of sewage.
"Here you will be safe, nobody will look for you. Goodbye." Ethan said giving a short hug to the thing before using his wings to go back up quietly.
Once upstairs, the plate was closed and his arm resumed a human appearance before he pretended to continue searching until midnight and he told the police that he found nothing, beat her was arrested, at least for the time he went home he saw Elsa and Anna asleep on the couch under a blanket with a movie on TV.
He looked into Eva's room to see her asleep as a baby with a little homemade stuffed toy that looked like Ethan's arm when he wanted to reassure the thing. He smiled as he gently closed the door before leaving for his bed while still dressed before falling asleep.