Come Find Me.
The town had barely awakened when the first scream pierced the quiet morning air.
It started in the marketplace, where merchants were just beginning to set up their stalls, their carts laden with fresh produce and goods.
The streets bustled with the early signs of daily life—children playing in the square, vendors calling out to passersby, and townsfolk exchanging morning pleasantries. Amid this peaceful scene, a lone figure drifted through the crowd. Dressed in a long black robe with a hood drawn low over his face, he passed by unnoticed.
Then, like a whirlwind of death, the figure struck.
Without warning, the man's hand flashed out with deadly precision. The first to fall was a fruit merchant, his joyful shouts turning into a sickening gurgle as his throat was slit cleanly.
Thud!
The dull almost silent collapse of his corpse drew the attention of those around him.
The people around him froze in shock, their eyes widening as the merchant collapsed, blood pooling on the cobblestones beneath him.
Before they could react, the figure darted to his next victim—a woman cradling her child. His blade slashed through the air, ending her life in an instant.
The woman crashed to the floor, the child falling off her lifeless arms onto the ground a few feet from the corpse of the mother.
"Wahhh!"
The child's scream rang out, sharp and shrill, cutting through the marketplace like a blade of its own.
Then, chaos erupted.
Panic spread like wildfire.
"Ahhhhh!!"
People screamed and scrambled in all directions, desperately fleeing the scene. But the killer moved with terrifying speed, cutting down anyone in his path.
Swooosh~
Puck!
Thud!
His strikes were deliberate and practiced, each one lethal. Within minutes, a dozen people lay dead or dying in the marketplace, their bodies littering the ground. Blood stained the cobblestones, and the once lively town square now resembled a battlefield, filled with lifeless forms.
The killer paused for a moment, standing amid the wreckage. His breathing was slow and measured, unperturbed by the carnage he had just unleashed. He wiped the blood from his blade with calm precision, then, with a calculated motion, reached out and scrawled something onto the wall beside him, using the blood of his victims to leave his message.
"You little bastard, come find me."
As quickly as he had appeared, the killer vanished into the shadows, disappearing without a trace. By the time the first guards arrived, there was nothing left but the gruesome aftermath of his rampage and the chilling message etched into the wall.
Once again, a killer had attacked and they'd failed to capture him.
This act of his led the people to begin to ask. "Was this the same killer that had murdered the two individuals from two days ago?"
No one knew. They all wanted to know. But if he stood in front of them, none of them would be willing to ask after witnessing what had just happened.
"May their souls rest in peace." An old woman coughed as she walked past the corpses being cleared out by the guards.
~~~~~
When Turai and the others finally arrived back in town after their successful hunt, the change in the atmosphere was immediate and unsettling. What had once been a vibrant and bustling place was now weighed down by an oppressive sense of dread. The streets, usually filled with chatter and activity, were eerily quiet. The townspeople moved quickly, their heads down, as if afraid to draw attention to themselves. Fear lingered in the air, thick and palpable.
Turai noticed it instantly. His sharp instincts, honed by countless battles and life-or-death situations, picked up on the tension that had gripped the town. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
Walking alongside Gareth and Hubert, Turai scanned the streets, his eyes darting from face to face. "Something's not right," he muttered, his voice low and tense.
Gareth nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed. "Yeah, it's like the whole town is on edge. What the hell happened while we were gone?"
Before Turai could respond, they were interrupted by the frantic shouts of a town crier rushing down the street, his voice cutting through the uneasy silence. "Hear ye! Hear ye! A new killer has struck in broad daylight! Over a dozen people have been slain in the marketplace!"
The words hit Turai like a punch to the gut. His heart skipped a beat, and his mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion. The orphanage. The children. Mrs. Benson. Were they safe? Was the killer targeting the people he cared about?
"I'll meet with you guys later. I need to check on the others." Turai mentioned and immediately turned around toward the direction of the Orphanage.
Without waiting for a word from the others, Turai bolted, his legs moving before his mind could fully process the news. His feet pounded against the cobblestones as he sprinted through the streets, his breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. Panic surged through him, cold and relentless, as he imagined the worst.
The streets blurred around him as he ran, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios. What if the orphanage had been attacked? What if the killer had targeted the children? The thought gnawed at him, driving him to push harder, to move faster. He couldn't let himself be too late. Not this time!
Turai weaved through the crowd, ignoring the startled looks from passersby as he sped toward the orphanage. His heart raced in time with his footsteps, each second feeling like an eternity.
The familiar buildings blurred past him as he focused on one thing: reaching the orphanage and ensuring the children were safe.
As the orphanage finally came into view, a wave of dread washed over Turai. The building looked untouched from the outside, its doors closed and windows intact. But the stillness of the scene did little to calm his racing heart. Something felt wrong.
Turai skidded to a stop in front of the building, his chest heaving with breath, his eyes fixed on the entrance.
Without a second thought, Turai rushed forward and threw open the doors, his pulse pounding in his ears. He stepped inside, praying that he wasn't too late.