Chapter 4: Encounter With The Shapeshifter.
The man let out a soft chuckle. "You can only blame this on your husband."
His hands were tightly wrapped around the sharp edge of the blade.
He trembled as blood seeped from his palms, dripping onto the floor. Yet,
Drip...
Drip...
He didn't seem to notice this.
I could feel the rage radiating from him- thick and suffocating. It bled from his eyes, warping the air around him with a tinge of madness that sent an icy shiver down my spine.
Tears streamed down the corner of his eyes, and the trembling of his hands only continued to increase in intensity.
"H-he placed this calamity upon you."
Wiping the tears away, a calm expression- the mask he'd always wear- slowly crept up his face.
"Aren't you enjoying this?" he asked in a rather mild tone. "It's actually kind of cool, don't you think so?"
The woman shook her head violently, tears splattering onto the bloodstained floor.
Her trembling grew more intense and so did her struggles to speak. It became much more pronounced.
And I could feel it from where I stood.
And just then,
Creaaak...
The door to the house creaked open.
A grating sound that made my heart lurch to my throat echoed through the endless dark.
And a man who greatly resembled the shapeshifter slowly walked in.
"Honey," he called, hanging his coat before moving toward the bedroom.
But he didn't find his wife there.
Tok...
Tok...
"Dear, I'm back." His voice drifted through the quiet rooms.
And-
"Hehehehe... seems like your husband is back." The shapeshifter's eyes gleamed in anticipation.
I suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
"Ah, I can't wait to see the terror in his eyes- the moment he realizes it's too late. Hah... That look... It'll be priceless."
Tok...
Tok...
The husband's steady footsteps cut through the suffocating silence of the night.
And within the blink of an eye, the shapeshifter had hidden behind the door.
And I could almost make out a wide grin on his face.
'Bastard!'
Just then,
Tok. Tok.
A man appeared at the room's entrance.
"Fuck! Nina- what happened to you?" His voice broke as he rushed to untie her.
His hands trembled as he let loose the ropes. He succeeded in doing that, but-
She trashed violently, desperation flashing in her wide, tear-filled eyes.
Thump. Thump.
He nodded and yanked the gag from her mouth.
"B-behind you!"
Tok...
Tok...
"W-what~..."
Turning back, a burst of fire flared in his palm. But,
Slasssh!
He reacted- too late.
The blade carved through the air, severing his head in an instant.
Splatter-!
Blood gushed out continuously from the neck before the headless body finally collapsed onto the ground.
The man's head rolled towards my feet, a widened look etched onto his face, even after his... death
Ba- dump! Ba- dump!
The blood splattered on my face carried an icy sting, as if it held the essence of a frigid wind.
A shiver crept down my spine, snaking through my body and chilling me to the core.
And then,
***
"Noooo!!!" I jolted upright, gasping for breath.
Thump. Thump.
My eyes darted around.
The car.
I was still in the car.
Then... what the hell was that?
Only one word came to my mind.
Foresight.
"What happened?" Klaus questioned, his voice sharp and urgent.
"The shapeshifter," I muttered, my hands still trembling from the aftermath. "It's in the house. It's already there."
Klaus was skeptical.
I mean,
He had been watching the entire time. And he would've definitely noticed if the shapeshifter had actually passed by.
That, he was very much sure of.
"Just trust me, Klaus." I muttered under clenched hands.
And then,
My breath caught.
"That's him! That's the husband!"
Klaus arched a brow. "Who?"
"The lady's husband."
Klaus gave me a weird look.
"Alright." He sighed. "But you owe me an explanation."
I nodded.
Pushing open the car door, we both headed for the residence.
Tok...
Tok...
We soon arrived before a dark-gray door and the second Klaus gave me the go-ahead signal- I kicked open the door.
Creeaak...
My heart pounded against my ribs, its deafening sound echoing through the stiling quiet.
Ba- dump! Ba- dump!
Stepping into the room.
I froze.
The room.
It was exactly the same as the one in my dream.
No. It was the one in my dream!
My gaze flicked toward the side room- the room where the macabre act took place.
And,
Thump... Thump...
I dashed towards the room, immediately followed by Klaus.
"Noooo...!!!"
A loud shriek pierced the air.
One that sent cold chills running down my spine.
Tok...
Tok...
We both dashed into the room just in time to,
Thump. Thump.
See a headless head spew out blood uncontrollably.
My heart skipped a beat as I shifted my gaze toward the shapeshifter.
"....?!"
He stared at us.
His brows tightly furrowed. "Military agents?"
His smile faltered for a fraction of a second before he chuckled. "Security huh?"
His lips curled into a faint smile. Definitely not worth the effort.
Tok...
Tok...
Without hesitation, he turned and bolted.
His mission here was done anyway... There was no reason to duke it out with us.
Klaus reacted instantly, pulling the trigger three times consecutively.
Kaa!!! Kaaa!!! Kaaaa!!!
PUCHIII!!
One of the shots managed to pierce through the shapeshifter's leg, just before he crashed into the window.
Katchaa!!!
Glass shattered under the weight of his fragile body and he skillfully ricocheted off the ground, before finally getting onto his knees.
Taking one last look at the intruders.
He marked their faces and then, continued running.
Step. Step.
He ran with everything he'd got.
And despite the continuous shots from Klaus and I. It seemed futile, as the distance between us only continued to grow.
"Take care of the lady," Klaus said, "I'll go after it."
I nodded, whispering softly, "Be careful."
Klaus gave a light nod. "I will."
Tok.
Tok.
He immediately leaped through the shattered window, chasing after the fleeing monster.
"...."
I turned to the woman.
She was shaking, sobbing uncontrollably.
Forcing a calm expression, I tried to comfort her. "Ma'am, please be calm. Everything will be okay."
"H-he killed my husband."
Tears streamed down the corner of her eyes, as she struggled to accept the grim reality.
I didn't stop her from grieving.
I knew she must be in pain.
And such pain really can't be described in words.
If I had to say.
Then:
...She would probably feel as though her entire world had come crashing down on her.
And such pain I doubted could be described with words alone.
***
Outside.
The shapeshifter abruptly left Klaus's line of sight.
He calmly gazed at the perimeters, but he couldn't find the shapeshifter. And,
'Where the hell is the bastard!'
Slowly, his patience began to wane.
...In the next five seconds to come,
'Aaaargh!'
He slowly grew annoyed and irritated.
And then,
Kaaa!!! Kaaa!!! Kaaa!!!
He shot the gun into the air.
"Aaaarggh!"
"Ruun!"
The panicked civilians crashed into one another, their screams drawing out his own frustrated growl. Klaus scanned the fleeing figures, but each face blurred together in motion. He caught a glimpse- a flicker of something inhuman- but just as quickly, it was gone.
...He even had a guess that the shapeshifter was probably the one who had said the word: "Run!"
What a crafty bastard.
His fingers twitched, itching to pull the trigger. But,
"Eeuuf!"
Exhaling sharply, he refrained from doing so.
His eyes moved through the now desolate streets.
There were still a few humans around who ran to safety or those who were brave enough to head to any nearby security company.
But he still didn't see the shapeshifter.
It was almost like... he had suddenly vanished.
But he knew it wasn't that simple.
Only transcenders could probably be in possession of such mystical powers. And he knew for sure that the shapeshifter wasn't one.
"Huff... Huff..."
Despite knowing he had to leave before any military agents arrived, he still kept looking. But eventually, he came back to a semblance of rationality.
Finding the shapeshifter as of right now was probably impossible. Not to even talk of the fact that it can just easily revert to its original skin.
"This is nothing short of a futile attempt." he muttered, shaking his head.
He exhaled sharply, and then,
Tok...
Tok...
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the still night as he hastily made way for the residence.