Ethan jumped onto the bus heading to Garfield Heights. His mind was racing with the conversation he had with Rami, but he was determined. Controlling this power was something precious to him Ethan was feeling the pure dopamine rush of fear for the first time, the raw terror immediately followed by exhilaration that almost consumed him. If he could control it… then he wouldn't need anyone.
As his stop approached, he stood up and walked toward the door. The bus stopped, and Ethan stepped off. For now, he pushed all the clutter from his mind and focused on the missing sisters, planning a careful yet secretive investigation. As he walked through their neighborhood, he spotted that damned black BMW with the same license plate again, but he ignored it and kept moving. The constant tailing made him increasingly irritated, and he muttered to himself as he walked:
"Enough already. Stop following me with that shitty car."
After a while, the car disappeared, and Ethan reached his destination. From the street, he watched the front yard of the house. Parts of it were cordoned off with yellow tape, and despite the day that had passed since the incident, no police were around.
Investigating the house was risky he was still wanted because of his previous mistake. He thought it through, and the conclusion was always the same: investigating that place meant getting caught. Realizing the danger, he decided he'd have to handle this at night using his cursed powers. It would draw more attention, but at least he'd be faster.
He headed toward his home. Waiting at a stop, he checked his wallet. After spending so much recently, he was out of money. He looked up just as the bus he needed arrived. The door opened, and he looked at the driver.
"Sir… I'm out of money. Could you… just this once—"
"No. Last time, some kid like you threatened me with a knife and robbed me, damn brat."
The bus door closed and drove off. Ethan had no choice but to walk home. The road was long and exhausting, but he had to be quick the sun was about to set. As he passed a group of youths dealing drugs, he ignored them. Moving quietly past, someone grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Where are you rushing off to?"
Ethan turned and looked at the guy holding his shoulder.
"My… home."
The guy and his friends laughed and mocked him. Then they grabbed his arm and yanked him roughly.
"If you've got a home, you've got money… right?"
Ethan tensed.
"N-No… I don't even have enough for the bus…"
"Lies! You think we're stupid!?"
They gripped his arm tightly, and the others moved closer, searching Ethan.
(TAK!)
In a moment of panic, Ethan punched the guy holding him in the stomach, breaking free, and ran. The others chased immediately.
"Come… hah… here! Don't run!"
Ethan dashed across the street and came face-to-face with a man wearing a sheriff's hat and uniform.
"Help!… hah…"
The man saw those chasing Ethan and raised his gun.
"Stop right there!"
Ethan kept his back to the officer, glancing at the men chasing him. They froze at the sight of the gun.
"S-Sheriff… Th-They tried to rob me…"
The sheriff muttered under his breath:
"Damn kids, I don't have time for this now."
He lowered his gun and shouted from a distance:
"If you leave this boy alone and walk away, I won't arrest you. Got it?"
The men exchanged glances and retreated without a word. The sheriff noticed the three claw-like marks on Ethan's back as he turned to look at him.
"Thank you, Sheriff…"
"Nathan Graves. What are you doing wandering around here?"
"Thank you… I couldn't get on the bus. I had no money…"
Convinced by Ethan's eyes that he was telling the truth, the sheriff hailed a passing taxi and handed Ethan some money.
"Will this be enough?"
"Thank you so much, Sheriff Nathan. I won't forget your kindness."
Thanks to Sheriff Nathan, Ethan made it to his home in a taxi. He paid the driver, got out, and entered the house, seeing his mother waiting.
"Hello, I'm home."
"Where were you? Why didn't you go to school today?"
"Uh… I wasn't feeling well… so I went to the pond to get some air…"
"Not feeling well? Let me see blow."
Ethan blew gently on his stepmother's face.
"At least you didn't drink. Get to your room! Don't come out until morning."
"Ugh… fine!"
Annoyed, Ethan headed to his room. His stepmother shouted after him, but his stepfather intervened.
"Don't exaggerate, honey."
"Exaggerate? The kid went off without telling us! What if something had happened?"
"He's not a kid anymore. He can handle himself. He just wandered a bit…"
Ethan closed the door and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The sun was nearly set, and if he sneaked out now, his mother would check on him. Night fell, and the cursed powers slowly awakened. Pretending to be asleep, Ethan hid two of his small blankets over himself, donned the black mask and gloves, and climbed out the window, sprinting toward Garfield Heights.
"Are you really going to use this power for two little kids…?"
"Yes, I have to save them… the police might see me as a helpful person!"
"That won't happen…"
Ethan reached the street, moving fast, arriving at the house and inspecting the cordoned-off areas.
"Come on… give me those cursed red eyes…"
His eyes turned red, scanning the area. He spotted different footprints leading toward the backyard. He broke through the backyard door and stepped in. The grass in places looked disturbed, as if a child had been dragged across it. Ethan had found a valuable clue.
The house lights flicked on, and a man opened the back door. That must be the girls' father, Ethan thought. The man froze when he saw Ethan and reached for his gun.
"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!"
"Hit him, Ethan!"
Ethan ran south, determined not to harm another innocent person. As he ran, he finally reached a highway underpass. Beneath the bridge, he saw a bloodstained pink cloth nailed to a piece of wood. This area was mostly inhabited by beggars, so seeing something like this was extremely suspicious. With few clues, Ethan continued under the bridge. It was around 3 a.m., and the sisters' location was still unknown. His power was growing, and he moved like a wolf tracking its prey.
Suddenly, he paused. A faint voice came from somewhere nearby.
"Sis!.. H-Help…"
Ethan sprinted toward the sound. Now he could smell the girls. The scent came from the basement of a house. He could hear three to four men inside.
(ÇAAT!)
The men inside froze and looked at each other. One nodded to another.
"Go check upstairs. Take your gun just in case."
"Okay… I'll call if anything happens."
A large, burly man creaked down the stairs. Every step groaned under his weight. He slowly turned the door handle and stepped into the living room—
"—Grrr… Die!"
(KRRT!)
Before he could react, the man's head split open. Ethan's rage exploded, but it was nearly 6 a.m.—if the sun rose, he'd be in serious trouble.
"Walt! Is everything okay!?"
Silence fell over the house again. The three of them decided to go up the creaky stairs, but after a few steps, they saw the reason for the silence. Walt was lying on the floor, his head twisted 180 degrees.
"Walt!!"
(KÜÜT!)
Ethan smashed through the floor and entered the basement right behind the stairs. The three men turned back and saw those red eyes… They weren't normal! All three grabbed their guns and started shooting.
(PAT! PAT! PAT!)
They emptied all their magazines at him. Smoke filled the room, and all three tried to escape.
"Damn it… just for money, Walt…"
The smoke vanished violently, and two pairs of red eyes were watching them.
"hrrff… hrrff…"
All three tried to flee, but Ethan turned on the man at the back of the stairs, his claw digging into the man's ankle. He stared like a bloodthirsty predator.
"Y-YHELP! HE-HELP!"
"AAARRGHH!"
"Khh… glup…"
(FIŞŞŞ)
A sudden sound cut off, and the remaining two men fled without even looking back. Ethan checked behind him, and with those red eyes, he saw the two girls were unharmed, even with a bottle of milk beside them. He released their handcuffs in a single motion. Ignoring everything else, he listened to his wild side and ran up to the living room.
"St-Stop! We're just—"
"Time's running out, Ethan…"
As the man spoke, Ethan realized the sun was about to rise. Ignoring him, he ran straight at him.
"T-tGod—"
(KRRT)
Without mercy or hesitation, Ethan split the man in two. His powers slowly began to fade.
"No… there's still one left!"
Ethan collapsed onto his knees from the pain. His body struggled to heal from three full-magazine bullets, but with his powers gone, he started losing blood. Footsteps approached this was the last man he hadn't killed. Ethan, kneeling and heavily injured, looked at him with wide eyes. The man pointed his gun at him. Ethan hadn't fully mastered his power, and now he would pay the price
.
"Y-You were just going to return the girls and take the money… YOU! You killed my friends, MURDERER!!"
"hff… N-No…"
Silence fell over the Hunger King. Ethan… while trying to be strong, had hit rock bottom. The last moments slowed down for him, memories and Mia flooding his mind. I wish I could have spent more time with Mia, he thought. Weak and kneeling, he slowly closed his eyes.
(PAAT!)
…What? Ethan was alive! The man had been shot dead, right in the center of his head, and Rami stepped in with a gun in hand. Seeing him, Ethan cried for the first time out of sheer happiness. He had felt death in his bones, and at the same time, the feeling was unbearable. Ethan lay on his back in a pool of blood, one eye on his father. From the basement, he saw the two girls watching them. As soon as they saw them, the girls ran away.
Rami turned to Ethan.
"I told you, if there's trouble, ask for help."
Rami lifted Ethan onto his back, carried him out, and laid him in the back seat of the black BMW. He got into the driver's seat, slammed the gas, and they drove away from the scene…
1 HOUR LATER:
Sheriff Marco was in his office, looking out the window while sipping his tea. Four days had passed, and he still hadn't found anything.
(tap, tap, tap.)
He sat back down and placed his tea on the desk.
"Come in."
The naive officer who had lost last night's camera footage entered.
"What is it? I'm already mad at you."
"This… this will make you forgive me, sir!"
"How do you mean?"
"About an hour ago, the two sisters who were kidnapped two nights ago were found."
"You're kidding me? What do I care!?"
"The girls said they saw someone terrifying… a black-masked figure with red eyes."
Sheriff Marco, in the middle of sipping his tea, couldn't believe what he was hearing and almost spit it out.
"What! Where are they?"
"They're right outside, sir."
Sheriff Marco jumped up in excitement and patted the officer on the shoulder.
"Congratulations. Thanks to your help, you've actually earned forgiveness."
"Thank you, sir."
He then gently gestured to the two young girls outside to come in.
"Is their family on the way?"
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, you can leave. I'm glad I have loyal people like you on my team."
The two girls entered the room, terrified, and sat side by side in the two chairs in front of the desk, holding each other's hands. Sheriff Marco saw their hands trembling and turned on the heater to warm the room. Then he sat back in his chair behind the desk and looked at them with a reassuring smile.
"Calm down. It's over now. You're safe here… your family is on the way."
The sisters looked at the sheriff as soon as they heard their family was coming.
"D-dad… did they pay the men…?"
"Hmm… pay for what?"
"To return us…?"
Sheriff found this a bit strange. If that were the case, the girls would probably be dead or already with their family, never coming here at all.
"Ah… yes, they paid. Where have you been all this time?"
"W-we were in a house's basement…"
"Can you show me where that house is?"
Sheriff pulled out a map of Washington D.C. The younger sister clung to her older sister in fear, while the older one, trembling, began to speak:
"The kidnappers took my sister directly, but I resisted, so they knocked me out. I… I don't remember much… there was a bridge… next to the bridge was an abandoned house…"
"Okay, but I need more details. For example… which direction were you dragged?"
"In…the backyard… and… when they turned my back to the house, they came from the right side…"
The older sister hugged her sibling and started crying. Sheriff Marco thought the younger sister would know the house's location. Just as he was about to ask her a question, the girls' parents entered. Seeing their daughters crying, the father turned to the sheriff.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Please calm down, sir. I'm only asking a few questions to find the kidnappers—"
"Calm down after making my daughters cry!?"
He grabbed his daughters' hands.
"If you won't do anything, I want to take my daughters and leave."
"Of course… Take care. Please close the door on your way out."
The mother took the younger girl in her arms to calm her, while the father took the older daughter and left.
Sheriff Marco was alone in the room, staring at the map in front of him. That house was a crucial piece of evidence. If he could find it, there might be camera footage. But based on the girls' information, he would need to conduct a wide search.
End of Chapter 7.