Chapter Text
It was a cold, misty morning in the city of Nova Fides. Wind howled, thunder crashing as rain came pouring down. The orange sun was shining in the crimson sky, obscured by dark grey clouds. Hundreds of people hid in their houses, waiting for the storm to pass.
Inside one of the houses, three people were sitting around a square table. The trio consisted of Frederick Smith, Jonathan Franklin, and Simon Jones.
“I heard rumours there’s a chupacabra terrorising the city. I thought those things were extinct,” Frederick said, glancing down at his laptop, which was open in front of him. He scrolled down the page, checking multiple news sites for updates regarding Darkfear and his goons. Despite the chupacabra attacks being his primary investigation, they still wanted to know what Darkfear was up to, and whether he had any connection to the attacks.
“So did I. It seems whoever wiped them out missed one, or twenty,” Jonathan replied, giving a slight snicker. He glanced between the others, waiting for them to give a response.
“Maybe someone else working for Darkfear?” Simon said. He held one of his daggers, turning it around in his hand as if he were examining it for any imperfections, putting it on his belt when he saw it was still intact, with not a scratch to be found.
Frederick closed his laptop after searching through several websites, unable to find any new information regarding Darkfear. He was sure there was more to be found somewhere, however. He didn’t know where to look. “I can’t believe she’d betray us like that,” He said, deciding to change the subject. The three of them were still upset over being betrayed by the notorious outlaw, Bethany Carter, who assumed the identity of Natalia Jäger, the former queen of the city. She manipulated them for her own ends for several weeks, wanting to take the throne for herself. However, they had the suspicion Bethany wanted more than that, yet they couldn’t think what it was.
“I can’t believe it, either. How was she able to manipulate us, given we have one of the world’s best detectives on our side?” Jonathan said, giving a heavy sigh, a frown on his face.
“Not all that different to how Theodore manipulated us,” Simon added, shuddering. He still had nightmares about his old master, about how he abused him multiple times for his failure in wiping out the werebeasts, how he tried to kill him in the church for becoming one of them, even though it wasn’t his fault.
“Back when you wanted to kill us, you mean?” Jonathan remarked. He looked at Simon with suspicion, still unsure as to whether or not he should trust him as he had been working for Theodore for several weeks, if not months, as his top enforcer, hunting down the very werebeasts whom Jonathan, a world-renowned conservationist, was trying to protect.
“Yeah, I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I thought I was helping the city when I was only making it worse,” Simon said, a single tear trickling down his cheek. He was so ashamed of what he did, all the terrible things he did, he didn’t want to be reminded of it. He was a changed man who wanted to help the werebeasts rather than kill them.
Frederick, not wanting them to get more distressed than they already were with their current discussion, went back to his laptop, checking through multiple articles; this time regarding the recent chupacabra attacks. He stopped scrolling once he found an article that grabbed his attention.
“Jonathan, you might want to see this!” He said, gazing over the screen, gesturing for him to come over.
Jonathan walked over to where Frederick was, standing behind him, wrapping his arms around Frederick. He looked down at the screen, which displayed an article on a popular news site; Nova Fides Reports. At the top of the page in bold, black letters were the words ‘Wolf Attacks Threaten Farmers’, with a graphic image of several dead sheep and goats below. Both of them noticed something rather peculiar about the picture, however; the animals weren’t covered in blood, which would be expected from a wolf attack. In fact, they were almost clean, it was as if they dropped down dead for no specified reason.
Frederick scrolled down, seeing information about how farmers were arming themselves to hunt down wolves which they suspected of killing their livestock, putting out poison baits for them to feed on, something that was legal thanks to a recent law set by Theodore during his time as king, a law that was yet to be repealed after his death. “If this was a wolf attack, why is there no blood on the carcasses? Despite the fact I’m no wolf expert like you are, even I know that’s too clean of an attack,” He said, analysing the image towards the top of the page. He tried enlarging the image, trying to see any smaller details but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
“You’re right, Frederick. That is a chupacabra attack. You can tell by the puncture marks,” Jonathan said, who was also examining the image a second time, noticing something Frederick didn’t: each animal had two bite marks on their necks. A wolf would have torn off parts of the flesh, leaving behind nothing but a pile of bones. Jonathan was a renowned expert on the kingdom’s wildlife, which allowed him to determine what species were responsible for different attacks, as well as how each species survives out in the wild. His research and findings have been acknowledged by various groups and universities, including the Nova Fides Conservation Society, as well as organisations in other countries.
“Seeing you two together like that, I have to wonder, are you two still dating?” Simon cut in, smirking as he observed the two of them interacting with each other, seeing they were more than friends, “Because, I have to say, you two are cute together, the way you’re acting.”
“Yes, we are. How do you know, anyway?” Jonathan responded, looking towards Simon, scowling. He didn’t want his personal life brought up, as they also had more important things to focus on.
“It’s on your file. I always make sure to get as much information as I can on my targets,” Simon answered, baffled as to how Jonathan could have forgotten he was once a skilled assassin.
“I never figured you for the romantic type, Simon,” Jonathan said, trying his best not to laugh at what Simon said, as though he told a very bad joke. He wasn’t sure whether he was being truthful or not, but figured he was being honest; since Simon was a master assassin, it would make sense for him to gather as much information as he can on his targets.
“I’m not. However, I do think it’s nice to see genuine love and friendships,” Simon answered. His smirk faded as he decided to go back to the conversation regarding the attacks, deciding it’s best their private life remained private, and they should instead focus on more important matters.
“I think we need to track down this creature, maybe find out how it survived,” Jonathan suggested, looking at the article once more, trying to see if he could get any more information. He grabbed a notepad and pen from off the table, and started copying down any crucial information which could help them work out what was going on, and what (or who) was responsible.
“The last known attack was on a farm next to the forest. It’s quite a small one, on the outskirts,” Simon said. Jonathan put his notepad and pen in his brown leather bag, which he picked up as he got out of his seat, before following the others outside and closing the door behind him. It was getting dark out, the stars visible in the sky and a crescent moon peeking out from behind dull, grey clouds.
After a few hours, they arrived at the farm which was mentioned in the article, and saw the bodies of several cows and sheep strewn all over the place. Each was exactly as the ones on the picture looked; all dead, with no obvious signs of injury anywhere on their bodies. It was like they dropped down dead one night. Simon went up to the door and knocked, not too hard, but still enough for whomever was inside to hear. The door creaked open, and a man with messy brown hair appeared behind it. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt, both of which were covered in mud, like he’d finished a long, hard day of work and was about to settle in for the night.
“Hey, we don’t mean to intrude, but we’re curious if you have any information regarding the attacks?” Simon asked, standing on the step. The man wiped his muddy hands on his shirt, getting it even more dirty. This man didn’t care about cleanliness.
“A single wolf killed all my livestock last night when I was sleeping. I managed to run it off as soon as I heard the noise,” The farmer said, gesturing to all the carcasses scattered all over the place.
“Did you see which way it went?” Jonathan asked, examining the bodies of the dead animals. As he looked closer, he saw the same distinctive bite marks on each of them; two puncture wounds on the neck, close to the jaw line, “Pierced right through the jugular,” He added, standing back up and turning to face the farmer.
The farmer pointed to his left, “It went that way, looking for more prey I suppose. I hope to god someone puts an end to these attacks,” he said. Jonathan looked behind him, and noticed two guns, a rifle and a shotgun, mounted on the wall at the far end of the room, the sort of weapons a hunter might use, and he wondered why the man didn’t just shoot the animal himself. It took him a few seconds to know the answer, however; the farmer had informed Simon of the attack, as he needed Jonathan’s scientific expertise to determine whether or not it was a wolf that killed his livestock, as he didn’t want to get the wrong target and hurt an innocent animal that didn’t do anything wrong.
Jonathan glowered at him with an expression that said he wanted to punch him in the face; he wasn’t going to let the man kill an innocent animal because it killed a few livestock. He managed to restrain himself, however, as he knew the man was acting out of defence for his livestock, and followed Simon and Frederick deeper into the forest, where the creature was believed to be hiding. While he didn’t want the creature to be killed, he still wanted to help the farmer and work out what the species was, since he knew the farmer had good reason to be upset, even if he didn’t agree with it.
“How can you mistake a chupacabra for a wolf? Frederick asked, holding his crossbow in case anything, or anyone, tried to attack them. He didn’t want to risk an ambush from anyone, including someone who might be working with Darkfear, who they suspected was involved. He also knew Bethany Carter would be around somewhere, and he did not doubt the idea she could also have some connection to the attacks.
“Chupacabras are very canine in appearance. And, since they’re nocturnal, it’s quite easy to mistake them for wolves. However, there are a few differences. For example; whereas wolves have four toes, chupacabras have three, with long, sharp claws similar to those of cats. Helps them maintain grip on the soft ground, and also to keep hold of their prey,” Jonathan answered, recounting his various studies of the creatures as they searched the area for any evidence on whatever it was that caused the attacks. He went into the front compartment of his bag, and pulled out a pair of binoculars, looking through them to see if he could spot the animal. His binoculars were equipped with thermal night-vision technology, which allowed him to spot things in the dark which he otherwise wouldn’t be able to. When looking through them, everything appeared in black-and-white, but was still clear enough to make it what was what.
They soon reached a large clearing, where they could look around more. Jonathan put his binoculars away, bent down and examined some tracks he spotted on the ground. “These look like chupacabra tracks. Look, you can see how the paws have three toes, with the sharp claws. whereas wolves have four toes. They’re fresh, and it looks like it headed in that direction,” He told them, pointing ahead of himself.
Simon and Frederick both followed him deeper into the woods, hoping to find the creature and put an end to the attacks. They kept following the tracks, keeping an ear out in case the creature made any sort of sound, and to ensure they weren’t being followed.
“Hey, I think I heard something!” Frederick told the others. He looked around, pulling out his crossbow and trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, “I think it might be the chupacabras.” He saw the others were also looking around and trying to find the source of the noise, and the direction it was coming from. Then Jonathan noticed something odd; the chupacabra tracks changed into human ones. He thought to himself How can the creature make human footprints?
As they were trying to look for whatever, and wherever, the sound was coming from, Jonathan heard the distinctive *click* of a revolver being cocked behind him, and turned around to see Bethany Carter pointing her revolver at him, her finger on the trigger, threatening to pull it. “Why is it, whenever something bad happens around here, you always seem to be involved?” He said, glaring at Bethany with an annoyed expression on his face. He looked down at the gun, which was pointed at his chest. “Can you put that thing away, Bethany? You might hurt someone with it,” He said, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice. He was starting to agree with Frederick, and had the suspicion Bethany was involved in the attacks, wondering how else Bethany would know where they were.
Bethany acknowledged his request, holstering her gun before approaching Jonathan and standing beside him. She walked around behind Jonathan, leaning towards him so she was almost touching his ear. “You should know me, Jonathan. I don’t like to disappoint. Turning up at all the wrong places is a special talent of mine,” She whispered in a smooth, seductive voice, “Oh, I know you still love me, Johnny.”
“You’re disappointing me by standing there,” Jonathan responded, trying to get Bethany away from him. He pushed Bethany before walking away from her. Bethany stood there, her hands on her hips and giving an exasperated sigh, as though she was a parent having to deal with a troublesome child.
“Am I? Well, I never knew,” Bethany remarked, removing her hands from her hips. She took off her stetson hat and brushed her hair back with her hands, before putting her hat back on, “However, I hear President Morgan Franklin is very interested in your investigation. In fact, I heard from a reliable source of mine that he wants to see you as soon as possible,” She continued.
“And what would that source be, Bethany?” Jonathan asked, uncertain of whether or not to trust what Bethany was saying after she betrayed them not too long ago. He continued to walk away, trying to lose Bethany behind him, but was also still interested in what she had to say, so walked slow enough for her to keep up with him and make sure the two of them were within earshot of each other.
“I’m afraid my source would rather remain anonymous, Jonathan,” Bethany replied, walking alongside Jonathan, who screwed his face up in disgust, as if Bethany were a stain on his clothes that refused to rub off no matter how many times he washed it, “I think you should visit the president as soon as possible, though. I’m sure he’s waiting for you in his house.” She left them to their work, giving a brief look back at them as she did so. Jonathan knew that look; it was clear to him Bethany showed some remorse, some regret for her actions, making him wonder if there was more going on with her than he already knew. Jonathan and his friends were desperate to find the answers to the questions flooding their minds, so they did as Bethany suggested and went back to the city to visit the president.