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Chapter 2

«Jack?...»

Jack looked up to her, lifting his gaze from the desk and beginning to clean up the mess of papers without much attention. It was his colleague to call him.

«Good evening Sarah... How are you doing?» he asked her. He knew that wasn't a social visit; more work was on the way.

«There was a call from the guards of Arka's national park. - she answered partially closing the door - Looks like a young man fell into the Colwak river.»

«Damn it...» he whispered grinding his teeth.

He got up on his feet and looked outside the window: it was late, the snow storm began half an hour before, but now it was growing in intensity. There was no sign it would have stopped before a next morning.

«Shouldn't the park be close by this hour, and with this weather?» asked Jack, but it was a rhetorical question and a curse at the same time. «It doesn't matter... Did they begin to search for it?»

The look on his colleague face already game him the answer.

«They couldn't, the storm began soon after.»

Jack tried to stay calm, he glanced down for a moment, then he thanked her and said that he would have thought about it the next morning. Sarah said him good night, then she left.

Jack remained alone in the office, lightened only by a lamp, with his desk still covered in papers. It was enough for that day. He took that decision last moment, then he prepared to leave.

He closed the door of the office after himself like he had just left his world.

While he walked down the stairs toward the underground parking lot he thought about that poor creature surrounded by icy cold and darkness. He could not have done anything to save him, with that storm no one could have.

Maybe it was because he just began his career as a police detective - he was still too young - but he couldn't accept that feeling of failure that took him every time, either if it was his guilt or not. His mouth was bitter.

He reached the car and from there he drive through the streets of Nethir covered in snow. A strong wind howled outside, tearing off flesh of any warmth; an icy hell on the city, who know how much powerful it was in the forest.

After ten minutes he arrived home. There was a calm into his house that he couldn't have found in any other place. His flat was not very big, but Jack was okay with that, he didn't spent much time there anyway.

He disrobed of his heavy clothes, there wasn't any need for them in there, and Jack only wanted to lie down after that long day. Working in the evening was the worst.

He literally fell on the sofa like a dead body, but, despite his weariness, he knew he couldn't sleep right now, his mind was full to the brim.

To lift his mind he switched on the TV.

«...the first minister of Faeras will take part to the meeting of the United States on Wednesday in Loth, to which is much the expectation for the presence of an Eenderi ambassador. This would be the first encounter between the two continents after the breach of diplomatic relationship almost sixty years ago.» said the announcer. «In a public announcement the official spokesman of the emperor said that, with the end of hostilities between the Empire and the Vaakr, it ends the last of the reconquest wars that shocked the continent of Krandor since the civil war of 1733. Now that the Empire has regained control of all his territory - lost after the civil war that broke down the country - it has no more a reason to abstain from diplomatic relations with the western continent...»

What a beautiful piece of news... he told himself, while his eyes slowly shut down.

«...the noble president of Faeras has announced today that he foresees a return to the state of peace previous to the civil wars that consumed the east and the west countries. By his own words: "A new golden age at the beginning of the twenty-fifth century." Then he...»

The annoying noise of his alarm clock woke him up; fortunately for him he had his phone still in his pocket, or else he would have never waken.

The first thing he remembered was that he felt asleep on the sofa with the TV still turned on. He immediately reached for the remote control and switched it off, then he got up and remembered the rest.

Yes... alright... I have to go looking for that poor guy. What a lovely morning this will be...

He took a shower then he prepared to get out.

It was a lovely morning indeed, there were no sign of the storm of that night, the sun showed up over the building to greet the Sunday morning.

It would have been better if it kept snowing...

It was just eight o'clock, but it took almost an hour of car driving to get to the entrance of the park nearest to the Colwak river. The small parking lot in front of the entrance was full of vehicles from the police department and the forest rangers.

He parked his car then he entered the small cottage which had the most cars parked in front of him.

There were four people in the inside, talking over a map of the park. «...and tell him to continue until the first intersection, to make so he covers the greatest area possible...»

He stopped when he heard someone entering the place, and all four turned to Jack.

«Hello..?»

«Good morning. I am Jack Anker, the police detective assigned to this case.» he answered approaching.

«Good! I am Eric Lyn, chief of the park security. We were waiting for you.» he said shaking hands with him. «Were you informed of the situation?»

«I only know that a boy fell into the Colwak river.»

«Yes, he fell yesterday evening, around eight and an half, from this bridge. - he said pointing his finger on the map - A couple of guards began looking for him after he didn't exit the park at the closing time. When they found him he was in the middle of the bridge, he clearly didn't feel very good, but they didn't make in time to him.»

«How do you know that he wasn't alright?» asked Jack with a not convinced look on his face.

«The guards said that he was not standing up by his own. And they found some spots of vomit along the way...» It looked like the guards chief was trying to defend his men; Jack noticed it but didn't say anything.

There was no need for tension during a search mission like that. So Jack decided to change the subject.

«How are we on the search?»

«We have begun to search along the river banks, but to now we didn't find anything. The stream is very strong near this point, if he was captured by the current he could well be arrived to the sea by now.»

In the end there was no way to know if even they would have ever found him.

«Do you have any idea who he was?» asked Jack. «Any image from the surveillance cameras?»

The guard chief answered with a smile.

«Actually we found his wallet.» he said, turning towards his desk and taking it out of a drawer.

He didn't immediately gave it to Jack, but instead he opened it and took out the ID card, then proceeded to read it.

«Lewis Hart, born in December, 2284, in Faeras. 1.74 meters tall, brown hair and dark brown eyes. Residing in Rowl street, n. 67.»

After saying all of that aloud he gave the card to Jack, who wasn't enjoying that situation at all. He controlled the card looking for any other detail, but it was all it.

«Any relative?»

He got no answer for that, just a shrug.

What a bunch of assholes.

«If you find him, or any clue, just call my office...» he said, then he got out of there.

There was no need to waste time with them, Jack left them to their work, even if there was something strange he felt in there. At least now he had something to do better than waiting without a reason.

He had to talk to his parents, if there was any.

A little bit of background was necessary to understand what was going on there, at this point it could have changed the very reason of that action. Also he had to tell his relatives about what happened, because probably they didn't know anything about that yet.

So he drove back to the city, another hour lost, and he stopped right in front of n. 67 of Rowl street. He just hoped someone was home, it was Sunday after all.

When they opened the front door, and he introduced himself, it was hard to describe the silence that fell on them.

They invited him inside, to seat down with them.

It took some time for him to explain what happened to their son, and more time for them to recover from the shock.

They asked question, but he didn't have all the answers for them, and he felt somewhat ashamed for that. After a while though he began to make his questions, insisting enough to bring back their attention. He had a investigation to continue.

He asked about him, what he used to do, how was him, if he had any story related to the use of alcohols or drugs, what were his habits... always trying to be as discreet as possible. But every question he made the answer was always the same: Lewis was just a normal person, a brilliant one, but he had nothing unusually strange, nothing obscure...

But this is the description made by the parents, maybe a close friend would have something more to say about him.

«Don't you have any idea about why he got so far from home?» he asked at some point.

«No, for the thousandth time we do not.» answered Lewis's father a little annoyed. «He didn't tell us anything, he just, walked off while we weren't at home and disappear. We waited for him, we tried to call him on his mobile, but he didn't answered back.»

«So you were the last one to see him alive?»

«No.» she said, after being silent most of the conversation. «We weren't. Yesterday we called some of his friends to know if he was with them or they knew something about him. One of his friend, Matt, saw him around ten. Lewis came to his house and then left without reason.»

That was the thing Jack was waiting for. When he first met Lewis's parents he knew they wouldn't have given much help to his investigation. Rarely parents really know what their sons are up to, but a friend, a close one, knows a lot.

It was him the one he had to question, so he thanked them and apologized for everything, then he left to go meet with Matt, sure that with him he would have gotten more answer.

«Hello?»

«Hi. My name is Jack Anker, may I enter please? You are Matt, aren't you? I have some questions for you.»

«Yeah...» replied Matt not surely convinced. But he saw the badge and he was asking himself what the hell was going on.

They sat down, but Matt was just filled with anxiety and couldn't keep himself still.

«You said you have some questions for me.»

«Yes, about your friend Lewis.»

«What happened to him? Is he ok?»

Jack took his time to give Matt an answer, it was just as difficult as telling it to his own parents.

«I'm sorry to tell you this but Lewis is presumably dead. Yesterday evening he was seen falling down a bridge into a river.»

Matt was speechless. He looked Jack like he was just joking, but after a few moments he realized there was no joke in it. Still he couldn't believe that.

Jack was about to say something to comfort him, but Matt began talking and he was not going to stop him.

«I knew there was something strange in him... he wasn't all right yesterday, if only I wouldn't have let him go away.» he said, covering half his face with an hand.

«What was wrong about him?»

Matt was shaking his head, he wasn't really sure about it.

«It looked like he didn't feel very good. He tried to conceal his pain, but he was white in face, he made up excuses. At some point he went to the bathroom almost running. After he returned I didn't have time to make a single question; he was already gone.»

Some point were already connecting, but there was still the main reason for all of that.

«Do you know what could have happened for him to feel so bad? Did he... took something...» Jack tried to say, but he was interrupted mid sentence by an angry Matt.

«He didn't took anything! He would never have done something like that!» he said pouring out all his anger and pain.

«Then why?»

Matt had maybe something to say, but he changed his mind.

«I don't know... he was not an open person. He didn't tell much about himself, not even to his friends.»

This just make it even worst to discover the truth. He really wasn't trusting him about all he was saying, maybe he was trying to defend Lewis, from who knows what. But Jack was at least sure of something, Lewis was not drunk or high, his pain came from something else. Matt didn't lie about it.

With this I can say it was not an accident. Was it a suicide then? Jack knew that it wasn't the right time, but he had to ask Matt's opinion about it.

«Do you think he could have killed himself?»

Matt looked him searching for the right words.

«He could have... but he would have never done it.»

Jack got what Matt was trying to tell him and thanked him for his help, but it was time for him to go. Before leaving though he waited a second, just to make his promise.

«I'm sorry for your friend, I'll do everything I can to find the truth.» he said.

It was really just a promise to himself.

After lunch Jack returned to the police station to continue with his work. He didn't even make in time to his office: Sarah walked by the moment she saw him.

«Jack, finally you're here. The guys from Colwak sent their reports about the investigation, I put everything on your desk.»

«Thank you. I'll give them a look after I write my report.» he said leaving her and going to his office.

He was back to his real home. In comparison to his house his office was really messy, he didn't even try to make it look any different. That's why he always felt better in there than anywhere else, although there nothing good ever happened.

As Sarah said there was a big pile of papers and photos right in the middle of his desk, something that clearly wasn't there before.

Jack approached it and began digging in it, not in search for something, but only because he wanted to get an idea of how much work he had in front of him. He wasted some time looking at some pictures: a pathway covered in snow, the spots of vomit they told him about, the bridge seen from the bank of the river and others he didn't even care to check.

This is really going to be a long, boring, handwork.

He put those photos back on the pile and began to write his report on the interrogations.

It took him some time, but after an hour or so he had finished it and decided to take a small break before getting to the rest. He had a long day before him and he didn't want to arrive dead to the end of it.

He got out his office but he immediately got call out by his superior, Lieutenant Torven. A somewhat rough man, but it was right in his ways.

«Detective Anker, I was just looking for you. Come, I wish to speak to you in my office.» he said, then turned around without waiting for any answer.

Jack followed him a little shocked at first, then more and more preoccupied. He didn't ask for anything until they arrived to his chief office, but even then he waited for him to speak first.

The lieutenant waited for a couple moments with his finger crossed in a really worrying position. Then he spoke and Jack almost remained without words, upset as he was.

«I am sorry to tell you that you cannot continue your investigation. The case you're working on is been shut down. You will be assigned to another one.»

«What?» he asked shocked. «Shut down!? Why? I didn't even began to investigate. It was given to me just yesterday.»

Jack was freaking out like he never did before, but the lieutenant didn't even blink at that, instead he tried to reassure him.

«It is not your fault. This is not some kind of punishment for something you have or haven't done.»

«Then why should I drop this case?» Jack said out loud, interrupting his chief. The gaze on his boss's eyes was clear enough. Jack calmed down, then Torven answered - not really - to his question.

«This is not matter of your concern at all. You will do as you are ordered. And you won't speak with anyone about this case, in fact it would be better for you to just forget about it.»

«Why?»

«I can't tell you this! - he answered on the verge of anger, punching the table with his fist - Now go back to work, unless you want to get fired right now.»

Jack left the office immediately, but after he closed the door behind he was almost about to swear out loud in rage. He hold it back and lamely returned to his office. After anger there come the depression.

Enough to open the door to his office and see the desk completely clean of all the documents. All the papers and photos about that case were removed, as they never existed.

What the hell is happening here?

Someone took everything, Jack couldn't believe it. Even the report he just spent an hour making was gone. He was angrier than ever, but he could not speak a word.

He sat down, watching over his empty desk.

This must be just a bad dream, how could it be anything else? Why would someone want to stop the investigation of a case like this?

That really added a whole new level to that matter. The hypothesis he had about a suicide dropped immediately, as did any other theory he could have possibly imagined. To force a police lieutenant to drop a case, only some kind of government shit would have all that power.

What was Lewis involved with?

Suddenly the phone on his desk rang. It was Jack took a few second to understand what was going on, but still he answered without a clue.

«Hello, here is detective Anker.»

«Jack, could you please hurry up? It's been already five minutes; I'm leaving you behind.» he said. Jack took just a second to recognize the voice as one of his coworkers.

«Kyle, what's this all about?»

«Have you not been informed? We have to go, a murder case awaits for us...» Of course, lieutenant Torven told him he was going to be reassigned. «If you don't come down right now I'll go without you.»

«I'm sorry, Kyle. I'm coming.» Jack said

He took his jacked and almost ran down the stairs to make it in time. Kyle was really the kind of person to maintain his promises; jack didn't want to miss it.

«Finally!» he uttered when he saw Jack, then he got in the car and began whining. «Really, we have a long way ahead and your making me wait. I don't even know why they put us together.»

I'm happy to be with you too. thought Jack. He suspected that it was just to distract him about that dropped case. Oh, well, too late to escape.

«So - Jack asked - do we know anything?»

«Not much.»

Kyle was driving along a way Jack already saw, towards north. It was the second time that day. But Kyle didn't went for the road through the forest, instead he took the highway.

«Where are we going?»

«The town of Lerad. We'll be there in less than an hour, so settle down, I don't want to die of boredom.» he said. He didn't get any better from the last time they met, a jerk a usual.

Jack although was not worried by his partner. All that he could think about was that the bridge on the Colwak river was just on the way to there. It would have required a slight deviation but he could have passed by on the way back to the city.

His boss told him to forget about that case, about all that matter, but he couldn't.

He had all the intention to continue the case.

Lerad was just a small town in the middle of nothing, almost un hundred kilometers north the capital. Not really close to the ocean neither to the mountain chain.

It was strange for a town like that to experience a murder.

Kyle parked right in front of the house they were supposed to go to. It was almost out of town, but there half the houses had the forest in their back garden. There were a couple of police cars and an ambulance, but from the amount of cops outside it seemed like they were just waiting for them.

They were welcomed by the police chief and immediately put up to the situation while they walked with him inside.

«Detectives. I'm glad you're here. The crime scene analyst arrived just ten minutes ago.»

«Good. Can you tell us what happened?»

«Of course.» he said leading them towards the house. Jack noticed that he began to sweat as they get closer and closer. «We are interrogating Mrs. Walt right now for more detail, but it seems like she and her husband found someone home when they returned after lunch. Mr. Walt asked his wife to go call the police while he armed himself with a rifle. When the police arrived they found him dead.»

They entered the house and proceeded towards the stairs, but right in the middle the chief stopped walking. He didn't want to go any further than that.

«You'll see it from yourself. It is not a nice sight.» he warned them, then he backed up.

Jack and Kyle arrived to the end, where the door to the bedroom was wide open. The sigh really wasn't much appealing.

The floor was just a huge puddle of blood that spread out from the bed almost to the door. It was difficult even for the analyst to get around it without stepping on it. Right in the middle of that red and sickening smelling stain there was the body of an middle-aged man.

His throat was cut wide open, but it was more like the entire right side of his neck was missing. His shirt was ripped to pieces and the skin over the shoulders and the face was covered in deep scratches.

If Jack had walked into that room without expecting anything he would have probably throw up, but he was ready.

My Goddess.

He covered his nose and mouth with his hand, trying not to breathe. Staring in silence was only worse.

«This is fucking horrible.» Kyle swore. Only then the two analysts noticed them. They had a mask on their face and were fully suited to not leave any trace.

One of the two came towards Jack and Kyle, pointing the door with an hand to make them get outside the room. Once all three were in the hallway he took his mask off.

«It is. - he affirmed - Fortunately Mrs. Walt didn't saw it or else she would have passed out.»

«Do you know what happened to him?» asked Jack stepping aside, so he had not the corpse in his view anymore.

«Well, he died of bleeding really fast. I have never seen such a large wound. Part of his neck was completely torn aside.»

«By what?»

«If we were not inside an house, but instead outside, I would have probably concluded it was an animal to kill this man. But since we are inside it was surely a brutal man.» he explained «There are marks of teeth - fangs really - on his throat.»

Kyle was behaving like he was more pissed off than normal.

«Good. We have a bloody psychopath.»

Jack frowned at him, but he didn't even noticed. Then he tried to reason with the analyst.

«Why do you think it couldn't have been really an animal?»

The guy in front of him had an answer ready for that.

«The man was holding a rifle and he shot his murderer. Have you not seen the stain of blood on the wall? He hit him at eye level, so it was not an animal. Then, we have the blood of the murderer. It won't take much until we found him.»

«Then we shall leave you to your work.» Jack said.

Jack and Kyle decided to split up to finish their work as fast as possible. Kyle took the rest of the second floor while Jack checked the first floor.

In the living room there was nothing to be found, it seemed that the murderer never even stepped into that room. All the interesting bit were in the kitchen.

The window above the basin was shattered to pieces, the glass shards were either on the basin itself or on the floor.

Clearly the murdered entered from here, smashing the windows from the outside. he thought. Mr. Walt must have seen the broken window and asked his wife to call the police.

Before going outside Jack looked for clues in the rest of the kitchen, but there was nothing else. The only thing he found were some little stains of blood on the floor in front the backdoor. It lead from the kitchen to the back garden, right into the forest, and it was open, to no one surprise. Jack found the way the murderer got out of the house.

He was sure to find at least some footsteps outside. The snow was still fresh from that morning, whoever walked there had for sure left some signs of his passage.

It was a shock for Jack when he found out what really was there out in the snow. There were footsteps that didn't seem human at all leading to the forest, and along them a trail of blood.

Black and icy waters flowed with the stream along the river. A turmoil of darkness that dragged everything within.

Lewis felt the strength of the river and the weight of water on himself. On the point of being torn apart, mercilessly pulled, first one way then another. A moment he had his head above the water, just a split-second of air, then he was down again.

All the pain and the cold water that burned his skin was nothing in comparison to the pain inside. In the last moments before his beloved death he was being tortured from the inside and the outside.

His body and his mind ripped apart by the monster.

At last he welcomed death with his arms opened.

The pain stopped, he was floating in darkness.

With a breath he opened his eyes, enough to see a ocean of stars and the foliage of trees.

He felt the hard ground below him.

He felt alive again.