Chapter 16: Further into the Mystery

After forcing himself to sleep and vanish the nightmare from his thoughts, the morning light pierced through his open window and shined upon his eyes. The light disturbed his slumber and caused Ryan to wake up, staring at the brown painted curling before letting out a deep breath he stored within himself and slowly got off the bed and entered the bathroom in his room.

He twisted the faucet to the side and a stream of water flowed down from the metal faucet of the sink. Splashing his face with the cold and chilling water to further wake his senses and body. His thoughts were clouded by the same nightmares as he gripped both sides of the sink as tight as he could, staring at himself in slight anger.

"All I wanted was a normal life… Illumina… The Kelpie,,, and now the Large Bull… Maybe it would have been best if I didn't come here, at least Wendy, Joseph, Hitomi, Shyra and the others would be safe… I can't do anything right, I need your help, Ms. Sasha and Ronald… I need your advice… but I can't get you two into this… I started all of this, so must take the responsibility to put an end to everything."

The boy muttered at the split-colored man staring right back at him in the mirror. He grabbed a dry, clean towel and wiped the water off his face before walking towards his wardrobe and picking up some fresh clothes for him to change into. Just a plain light blue hoodie with a black T-shirt underneath and black comfortable-looking jeans. After changing his fashion wear, the lad hastily walked downstairs to see if he could help with Lucas' work or assist the other staff, but he was greeted with an angered look from Lucas who was standing next to the door with his arms crossed while Wendy stood next to Joseph behind the small sofa, too small for it to even be called a sofa.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked without knowing a single clue of what was happening.

"I tried to stop him, trust me" Wendy replied as she glared at Joseph who had a guilty expression.

"Sorry dude, Lucas asked me about what happened yesterday, I was pressured" Joseph spoke before Lucas.

"You got beat up and you didn't tell me?!" Lucas yelled in clear anger towards Ryan. He tensed up as a response to what Lucas said before responding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to worry…"

"Well, you should have washed off the blood from your clothes! Once I saw those dried blood on your laundry I knew something was up so I asked Joseph cuz he can't take this kind of pressure"

"It's true," Wendy muttered.

"Kid, you should have told me. Now I'm going to put matters into my own hands" Lucas clenched his fist before heading out of the door and into the garage where Ryan and Lucas's car was in view while the three of them were left in shock inside the house.

"Ryan, I'm so sorry…" Joseph apologized.

"It's okay… it's my fault for keeping this from him…"

"Why are you worried that Lucas would be worried? Everyone is smart enough not to mess with him" Wendy spoke that caught Ryan's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone is actually afraid of Lucas' rage side, no one can defeat him in combat… even the sheriff, that's why he's a friend to him. Lucas has "that" reputation. I'm sure he'll give Bruno a lesson, and I'm sure his father would understand why he had to take this matter into his own hands"

Ryan was left in silence and surprise after what Wendy said. Soon they were alerted with the loud and repeated horn of Lucas's silver-colored car outside on the road, waiting for them to come along.

"We better go with him, come on Ryan" Wendy suggested before the three of them got in the car with Joseph riding shotgun while Ryan and Wendy sat together on the back.

As Lucas aggressively drove into somewhere that the lad didn't know where he planned to go, He constantly gazed over at Wendy and noticed a faint light blush on her cheeks for some reason before gently nudging her on the side with his shoulder, gesturing her with his eyebrows and whispering where they are going. Her blush disappeared and muttered silently so they couldn't hear them.

"Bruno's house…" Even though it was obvious for Wendy and Joseph, Ryan still couldn't believe that his uncle was this angry to go over the edge.

In a matter of minutes, they arrived in front of a large white-colored house of the Suburb part of the neighborhood in the town of Shooting Star. They all exited the car in unison as they stood in front of the number 1 threat of the teenager's life in this small town. Lucas rushed towards the large wooden door of the white house, just by the door's appearance everyone can tell that the family living behind these walls are indeed wealthy. He balled his hands into a fist and knocked loudly on the door with the bottom of his fist before shouting.

"Rodriguez! Open the door, it's Lucas!" Yelled Lucas but without a reply, he banged on the door harder and louder with his fist.

"Maybe no one's inside?" Wendy suggested as she stayed close next to Joseph and Ryan.

"Rodriguez never leaves his house unattended. Open this goddamn door or I swear I will kick it open Myself!" His patience was tested when no response was made behind the door. He arched his back and raised his right foot before kicking the door open as hard as he could, with one successful attempt, the door was forcefully opened with just a kick from Lucas. But suddenly their nostrils were tainted by a sudden stench of rusty iron, but it was too powerful of a rusty metal scent. No. It was Blood. The hall in front of them was dark but was soon Illuminated by the light of the sun outside and exposed several dead bodies on the floor which was already a pool of blood. Wendy attempted to let out a sudden scream but Ryan covered her mouth and pulled her to face his chest instead of the gruesome sight.

*What the F-" Before Joseph could finish his sentence, Lucas interrupted him with a loud voice and gestured to them to step back.

"Stay back! Ryan stays here with others, Joseph! call Sheriff Reed!"

"O-okay" Joseph stuttered before fishing his phone in his pockets and dialing the number of the Sheriff's department.

Gazing back at the Horrific view, Lucas entered the house. Each step he took was the sound of footsteps resembled the echoing sound after stepping on a puddle inside a tunnel. As he walked past the bodies along with the scattered limbs and organs of the victims, the stench of a rusty metal coming from the blood grew too unbearable for anyone. He tugged the collar of his shirt and covered his mouth and nose, at least the smell of his Axe body spray would counter the metallic scent of the blood. Judging by the sticky blood, the incident happened not so long ago, and by Lucas' guess, this must-have happened last night or early in the morning.

With his mind suddenly being shrouded by the traumatic memory of his haunting past, Ryan clenched both of his fists and went inside as well, followed by Wendy while Joseph stayed behind and waited for the Sheriff's response since he was placed on hold. While they avoided stepping on the comps and scattered organs, Ryan made sure that Wendy stayed close to him as Lucas went upstairs to search if there were at least survivors. As Ryan gazed over at the Horrific scene, he soon recognized a few of the victims, they were the ones who beat him up the other day with Bruno.

"These were the people who beat me up yesterday…" Ryan muttered to Wendy.

"What happened to them…? Who did this horrible thing?" Wendy replied with a question and a nervous tone due to the unsightly scene.

Meanwhile, Lucas opened the door at the end of the corridor, and inside was Mr. Rodriguez's corpse with a large knife that was left plunged into his throat which was the reason for his death. He approached the corpse and let out a sigh before slowly removing the knife from his throat using the sheet that was stained in blood so his fingerprints won't be mistaken for the killer's and throwing it to the side before sliding his hand down from the corpse's opened eyes to shut them as formal respect to the ones who left this world.

As Ryan proceeded to the kitchen, Wendy attempted to follow but heard a faint noise coming from behind the door that was beside her. She became suspicious of the noise and slowly reached the doorknob. Her heart was slowly raising but she was determined to know what was behind the broom closet. Once she placed her hand on the golden-colored doorknob, the door immediately opened, and inside it, popped out Bruno. Tackled Wendy and pinned her on the wall as her fear suddenly rose from shock.

"She's going to kill me as well, where is she?!" Yelled Bruno with an expression that looked like an insane person that was beyond saving, the pupils of his dark brown eyes shake as a sign of fear, the side of his cheeks was covered in blood splatter leaving Wendy in a state of fear and confusion before Ryan arrived from behind and punched Bruno to the side, sending him to fall on the blood-covered floor as he pulled Wendy close to him.

"Wendy, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Ryan asked in concern as she coughed from her mouth due to what happened before responding.

"I'm alright… thank you" Wendy thanked the lad and wrapped her hand tightly around his right arm. Wendy is a strong-wielded girl but anyone would shiver in fear and lose balance if an incident happened like that to them.

"What happened?!" Lucas yelled as he arrived on the scene. Soon all of their gazes turned towards Bruno who was shivering on the floor. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw that his right hand was cut off, a white cloth was wrapped around it to prevent more of the bleeding.

"What happened to you…?" Ryan asked with a low voice before Bruno's muttering became louder.

"She wanted you… but she killed them all…"

"What?"

"She wanted you, but she killed them all"

"Who wanted me?"

"SHE WANTED YOU BUT SHE KILLED THEM ALL!" Bruno shouted and repeated the same words as he planted his forehead on the blood-covered floor like a person who just lost his grip of sanity. Ryan and the others stared at Bruno with pity before the Sheriff arrived along with several ambulances.

As the smoke of conflict and Horror started to clear after sending Bruno to the hospital and placing all the corpse in individual body bags, Ryan, Joseph, and Wendy stood on the side of the road in silence as they gazed at the ambulances who rushed towards the hospital with the emergency Siren going on and loud across the neighborhood. Lucas gazed over at the silent teens and walked towards them with an empathetic look.

"How are you guys feeling? Is Wendy alright?"

"Yeah, she's doing fine and so are we…" Ryan replied to them.

"I see… why don't you guys head back home, I'll discuss the events with Sheriff Reed and the other deputies."

"Uncle Lucas… again… I'm so sorry for not telling you"

"It's alright, let's leave that behind. Just head back home, I might take a while"

"Yeah, let's go dude" Joseph spoke before Ryan and Wendy agreed and headed back to the shop while Lucas stayed behind to discuss what happened in detail.

While the teens walked in silence across the Suburb neighborhood, Ryan couldn't help but overthink everything that happened and blamed himself for it. If he at least told Lucas about what happened to him earlier then they could have prevented all those massacres and found the culprit, so there's huge proof that part of this was his fault. Even though Bruno is not someone who people would pity, having to be the only survivor of the brutal and traumatic massacre of his friends and family was something only Ryan could understand. Bruno must have been so Traumatized that he eventually lost his mind. While they kept walking, they soon stumbled in front of Manny and Josie, walking towards them on the same roadside which caused them all to stop.

"Hey, guys! What brings you to this side of the neighborhood?" Josie asked with her usual cheerful smile but soon dropped when she noticed the conflicted look on their faces, especially Wendy and Ryan.

"Did something happen?"

"Lucas dragged us here to talk to Bruno's dad after Bruno beat up Ryan with his friends" Joseph replied placing Josie in shock and worry towards the Split colored lad.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" Josie asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But…"

"But what?" Manny asked, noticing his stutter.

"Bruno's friends and father have been murdered…" He replied to Manny's question, shocking both him and Josie.

"How about Bruno?" Josie asked.

"He's alive… but he's missing a right hand"

"Well, serve him right, that bastard had it coming" Manny muttered out loud before Josie elbowed him, signaling him to shut up.

"Hey come on, Man. At Least give a little respect, his friends and only family members just died" Joseph spoke.

"People die eventually, their Deaths were just quickened"

"Alright, that's enough! Joseph is right, Manny'' Josie agreed with the chubby teen as Manny rolled his eyes to the left. Soon Josie noticed that Wendy was quiet, it was unlike her to be this silent, she would at least comfort everyone or argue with Manny but she didn't. She stood there next to Ryan while staring down at the road, she should have been nervous being that close to Ryan but no, it was as if she was in deep thoughts.

"Hey, why don't all of us hang out for once? Just to have fun and clear our minds alright?" Josie suggested, hoping to cheer Wendy up. Joseph agreed and reverted to his usual positive vibe.

"Yeah, sounds good. This could be our first Club activity, have fun!"

"What do you say, Wendy?" Ryan asked with a gentle smile towards her. She gazed over at the lad's smile, just by that express the emotions of fear and confusion started to fade as she was regaining her old, active aura again.

"Yeah, I'm down for that" She replied with a smile as well.

The 5 teens walked together and headed towards the City who unknowingly failed to notice that black car following them from a distance from behind, except for Manny who seemed to already notice it but was calm all the way. Having her emotions back to normal, Wendy started a small conversation to remove the cloud of silence and social awkwardness.

"By the way, Ryan. How is your research on the books about the town's history in the library?" The brown-haired female asked as they walked.

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I saw you entered the library two days in a row. What were you up to?" Josie asked as well. Ryan took a few seconds before responding to the two female's questions.

"I wanted to research about this town's history, hoping I would find a clue about why there are mythical creatures in this town specifically"

"Did you find anything though?" Joseph asked with a curious tone.

"No… nothing that resembles what I'm looking for."

"So it was for nothing then?" Manny commented.

"Not so much. I met Hitomi there"

"The book freak? What about her? She doesn't even speak" Manny replied.

"Don't be rude!" Josie shouted at Manny.

"She's not a freak, she just really loves reading books. And she speaks, but only to me. That's what she said when I accompanied her home" With Ryan's response the two females had their eyes widened in surprise with a mixture of envy towards the girl in the library. Joseph smirked and laughed mentally after noticing their looks.

"Really? She spoke to you?" Wendy asked before Manny.

"Gee, I wonder why?" He said with a joking tone as both he and Joseph laughed silently, leaving only Ryan in confusion.

"I don't know, but she's really peculiar… she even amazed me that one time"

"So you admire Hitomi?" Joseph asked.

"I guess so. She can also be of help to us"

"Of help? In what way?" Josie asked, having no clue how a shy girl helps them who can't even speak towards anyone except for Ryan.

"So many ways" Ryan replied with a wide smile as he looked up to the sky. She could really be a valuable help seeing she has a book that goes beyond any understanding of science.

Soon they felt a sudden change of the aura between them, it was as if their instincts came together and warned them of something terrible that would happen. They all came to a sudden stop when in just a blink of an eye, a 5 hooded figure wearing black robes and leather boots stood in front of them. Ryan and Manny got their defenses up and readied themselves but Joseph asked them a question hoping they just stood there for a dramatic effect while on their way to a cosplay convention nearby.

"Can we help you?" Joseph asked but received no other reply except for two sharp blades that appeared from the end of their Robe's sleeves and onto their hands. The blades resembled bones that were carved and sharpened for tribal combat, somehow those people didn't seem to be what Ryan and the others thought they were.

"Woah, what do you guys want?!" Josie yelled, feeling a bit frightened as Ryan and Manny balled their fist, readying for a possible combat initiation.

"We want the boy…" Said the one in the middle with a deep voice that prevented them from guessing whether they were male or female. "Give him to us." The hooded figure spoke once more, this time it pointed its index finger directly at Ryan, sending them all in a state of shock.

"Why him? What do you want with Ryan?" Wendy asked.

"Give him to us, or we will take him by force"

"What if I refuse?"

"Then we will have no choice but to kill your friends one by one"

"How would I know you won't hurt them?"

"You are in no position to bargain here. Make your move"

Ryan was puzzled along with the others, they never expected for this sort of thing to happen. They all became quiet as the area between them and the hooded figures began to shroud in darkness, surely running away was no longer an option, and stalling some time might be too risky so Ryan didn't have any other choice but to succumb.

"Alright… just don't hurt them" Ryan replied before Wendy tugged the sleeve of his hoodie.

"What are you doing?! What if they hurt you or worse!" She yelled with a whispering voice.

"I can't let you guys get hurt…"

"Ryan don't be so selfless! I already told you be-" Ryan interrupted her.

"Wendy if I don't do this they will kill all of you. We're in no condition to fight and we're seriously outnumbered… I have no choice"

"But…"

"It's going to be alright…" Ryan said with a reassuring tone before walking towards the hooded people. Manny grew angrier by the minute, wanting to help but there was something that was preventing him from taking an action and it was not because of the people in front of them. Once Ryan stood in front of the person in the middle, he waited for their response only to be shocked.

"Kill them…"

"That was not what you said!" Yelled Ryan

"No witnesses" the four hooded figures attempted to rush towards Wendy and the others with a killing intent but soon they stopped when the black car honked to prevent them from attacking. All of their attention rushed towards the black care making Josie feel relieved.

"Wait… is that Alex?" Josie asked herself before 4 grown males exited the car wearing a black suit and tie along with a pair of shades before aimed their handguns towards the figures.

"Miss Josie, stay back!" Yelled Alex.

"Who are they?" Wendy asked the pink-haired female wearing a yellow jacket.

"They're my bodyguards that my father ordered to follow me from time to time. Alex, please save my friend!" Yelled Josie out loud as Alex and his team went closer while pointing their firearms at the Hooded people.

"Let the boy go or we'll shoot!" Yelled Alex as a threat.

"Should we kill them as well…?" Asked the hooded figure next to the one in the middle.

"No… just knock them out, remember our oaths…"

"Done… I haven't had fun in a long time, Boss' ' After they shared their blades back in their sleeves, the four people wearing robes dashed towards Alex and his team of trained bodyguards. They fired their guns but they dodged every bullet that came their way like it was nothing. Alex and his team were shocked and couldn't believe what they were actually seeing, people who can dodge unseen bullets while charging towards them. Wendy, Josie, and Joseph covered their ears with the loud sound of guns firing.

Each of them tackled the bodyguards individually and fought them with immense speed and combat skills. They fought hard but they were no match for their unknown combat. Alex was the best among the Flintlock Family Guards but even he was no match when it came face to face with one of them but he refused to surrender.

"Miss Josie run! I'll handle them!" Yelled Alex before countering a punch by a swift shoulder throw before moving onto the other enemies. Ryan immediately executed a low sweep, causing the leader to fall hard on the ground before running at full speed towards the end of the neighborhood along with Wendy and the others.

The leader picked themselves up and arched their back from the pain before gazing at Alex who was seen crouching on the ground with his team and the other hooded people lying on the ground.

"This guy got some spark"

"I… won't let you… hurt Miss Josie…" Alex asked under his deep breaths, breathing heavily after getting breathless from the fight.

"She's not who we're after don't worry, it's the boy we want"

"What… Do you want … with him…?"

"Classified"

"If you want to get him then you have to beat me…"

"Oh? You seem confident"

"I just defeated your allies…"

"So you have… you guys done resting?"

Said the leader before its allies started to pick themselves upon the ground like they sustained no injuries, shocking Alex but he just let out a small laugh after realizing the difference in strength and abilities between him and the people surrounding him.

"No human can defeat us…" Muttered one of the leader's allies before knocking out Alex with a swift punch to his Vagus nerve.

"The boy got away… what happened?"

"I let my guard down… but it won't happen again… I was surprised that the boy knows how to spot an opening… interesting, no wonder he killed Illumina"

"What now? We lost them"

"No… I got his scent" The leader replied and showed them a single strand of Ryan's white hair, pulling the hood down and revealing that she was actually a woman, with furry cat-like ears on the top side of her head, green-colored eyes with diamond-shaped pupils and a long furry tail that resembled a fox or a wolf and with her pinkish, white soft skin. Sniffing the single white strand of hair and closing her eyes, taking in all of Ryan's scent before opening them. "I know where he is…" Said the female as her tail wiggled like it had a mind of its own. The others pulled down their hood as well, revealing to be all males but have the same appearance as her. "Alright then, boys… let's do this properly this time"