The drive to the docks was completely silent except for Owen's occasional curses at especially reckless drivers and cars that wouldn't move fast enough. Jack sat in the passenger side, staring thoughtfully out the window until they arrived, Owen parking in the garage near the empty tourist shop. Before Owen could escape, Jack grabbed his arm and said, "Owen, about last night..."
But Owen cut him off, "I don't want to talk about it. It's never going to happen again so just drop it."
Jack nodded and got out of the car, striding towards the docks with his coat billowing out behind him. Owen watched him go, a pang of heartache shooting through him.
When Owen arrived at the entrance to the tourist shop, Jack was standing there talking to a man in a bulletproof vest and a red beret.
"Bloody UNIT." Owen said under his breath before walking up to the two men. Jack's eyes were narrowed and his face grim; Owen stood next to him and listened to what the UNIT soldier was saying.
"We found it in an alleyway. Never seen anything like it, some kind of ravenous alien, keeps saying it's hungry but won't eat anything we give it. Can't figure out what it is, so the higher ups sent me here to bring you in. Can't say I'm pleased about it, though."
Jack ignored the last comment and asked, "What does it look like? The alien."
The UNIT soldier shrugged, "Looks like a regular human. Except... its eyes are a bit weird. They're almost... red."
Jack looked thoughtful, "Doesn't sound like an alien I know of, but I'll give it a look."
The UNIT soldier nodded and gestured for them to follow him to the black unmarked SUV parked nearby.
They were met at the underground door to the UNIT base by four men. Three with heavy guns and the fourth dressed in a nice blue suit. The man in the suit stepped forward and outstretched his hand. Jack didn't take it.
"Where is the alien?" He asked instead.
The man looked a bit jilted, but soon regained his calm exterior, "My name is Director Adams, come inside."
Jack and Owen followed him into the big steel door and Owen looked back as it closed with a clang.
"Shouldn't we have brought back up? Even just Suzie?" He whispered to Jack, but the taller man shook his head.
"No, they don't want too many of us to see inside their secret base." Jack said, rolling his eyes.
"This way, please." Director Adams motioned them forward with his hand into a sterile white room with a bulletproof glass enclosure inside of it. Behind the glass, Owen could see a figure hunched over in the corner, shaking and rocking back and forth. The smell of bleach hit his nose full force as Jack stepped closer to the glass. Director Adams pulled him back, "Careful. We don't know how strong this thing is."
Jack stepped forward again, ignoring the warning, and tapped on the glass.
The effect was almost instantaneous, the hunched figure whipped around and its eyes stared straight at jack. They were black, not just the pupils but the sclera as well, with red veins flowing through them. The creature, whatever it was, crouched down like a cat stalking its prey and then pounced, slamming against the glass and nearly shattering it. Thick cracks appeared on the surface, and Owen lept back, his hand automatically jumping to his Glock. Jack placed a hand on Owen's wrist, "Wait."
The alien crept back, its strange eyes watching their every move. Jack drew closer then kneeled down in front of it, watching it with his calm blue eyes. Owen drew his gun just in case.
The creature began to hiss and pace side to side. Jack frowned as he looked at it then said, "Have you tried feeding it human meet?"
Director Adams looked horrified, "Of course not!"
"Go get a body or something. I think I know what he is."
Director Adams gestured to one of his guards then turned back to Jack, "What is it?"
"I've never seen one in person, but I've read the lore..." Jack trailed off, his eyes never leaving the creature, "I think... I think this is a Ghoul."
Director Adams laughed, "Like a ghost? No way."
Jack looked at him seriously, "No. A Ghoul is different then a ghost. They are corporeal creatures that feed on human flesh. It's also said that they have what the Japanese call Kagune, weapons to help them hunt."
"Well this one doesn't seem to have any weapon." Director Adams said mockingly. Jack ignored him, instead he glanced at the door as the guard came back, a frozen torso in his arms. Jack looked at it distastefully, then told the guard to put it in through the slot at the bottom of the glass. The guard did so.
The Ghoul had had its eyes on the torso ever since it came into the room and now it lept on it ravenously, its fangs tearing into the flesh and chewing straight through bone. As they watched in horror, something began to sprout from the creature's back. Long purple tentacles with sharp edges cut into the torso, holding it down so the Ghoul could eat faster. The torso was gone within minutes and the Ghoul licked its lips and stared, still hungry, straight at Jack.
"Keep feeding him." Jack said, "Then we'll take him off your hands."
Director Adams began to protest, something about wanting to do experiments, when Jack raised a hand for him to stop, "I don't want to hear it. We're taking him and that's final."