On the Night Before

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Chapter 93: On the Night Before

Late at night, a girl with short hair stepped off the bus at a stop far from the town. She walked through the dark streets calmly, listening to music on her headphones, confident that nothing could happen to her.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Her phone began to vibrate.

She answered the call and then lowered her phone, knowing this was the last stop and the last bus of the night.

"Hi, Mom," the girl said.

"What? I'm almost home."

"You don't need to worry. No one will kidnap me around here; the worst thing that's happened is that the neighbor's dog got stolen."

"Don't go outside, Mom, it's cold."

"Alright."

"Your daughter will be home safe."

After hanging up, just before pressing the button to resume her music, she heard a distant scream of terror.

"Argh!"

The girl, named Hanna, stopped in her tracks, the smile she had from her mother's concern disappearing from her lips.

Walking slowly, she removed her right earbud.

As she took out her earbuds, Hanna cautiously scanned her surroundings, but nothing seemed out of place among the large trees and dense bushes.

As fear began to mount, her suspicions and vigilance grew. She knew something was wrong and that she needed to leave the area quickly.

Just as she convinced herself it was nothing, the sound of a broken branch being stepped on came from behind her.

Quickly, she turned to look for someone, but no one was there. She was alone in the dark.

Given the isolation of her location and the late hour, she started to feel scared.

Slowly turning her gaze forward, she vaguely sensed a presence approaching rapidly.

With the fear of being attacked and the intensity of her emotions, Hanna instinctively collapsed backward, her bag, phone, and earbuds falling onto the dry leaves.

Through her tears, Hanna could just make out who it was—a woman without shoes. From her clothing, Hanna quickly realized she was in trouble.

"Help me."

"Please, help me."

As the woman begged for help through tears, Hanna noticed a figure hiding in the darkness behind the girl.

Upon seeing who was being pursued, the woman didn't even have time to cry. Her expression shifted from confusion to extreme terror.

Hanna watched in confusion as the woman frantically searched in every direction for her attacker.

In a panic and driven by fear, the woman fled, leaving Hanna on the ground. Looking around in all directions, Hanna didn't know what to do.

"Please, don't hurt me."

"Let me go!"

Hanna quickly searched for her phone among the leaves. When she finally found it, an enormous shadow slowly approached from the front.

Hanna's frantic movements stopped as she looked up in shock, only to be struck by a quick hand that sent her flying several meters away.

Hanna was knocked unconscious from the impact, and with no one else around, a massive hand grabbed her right foot and began dragging her into the dense trees.

…

Ethan arrived at a room filled with screens, where captains of other special forces teams were gathered. They were about to stand and salute, but there was no time, so he said, "No time for formalities—what do we have?"

"Last night, about a kilometer from a barbecue restaurant, a female body was found near the road."

"The victim was around 24 years old, had an attractive physique, and had a face appealing to most men."

"The deceased's clothes were damaged and torn, with claw marks all over her body, which suggests some sort of beast."

"The preliminary report by the coroner identified the primary cause of death as instant decapitation."

"According to investigators, the woman was last seen on camera minutes before her death."

"Her head was found 600 meters into the forest, in the middle of nowhere. The decapitated head was missing its brain, apparently ripped out by some kind of beast."

"Her mobile phone was broken in what we speculate was a fight to defend herself from her attacker."

"The phone was taken to the lab, and after repairs, messages sent by the deceased to her boyfriend were recovered. She remained alive for a short time after the initial attack."

"The first message was, 'Honey, I think there's something hiding in the bushes. I'm scared!'"

"The second message read, 'I just got closer; it seems to be just an abandoned dog.'"

"Field agents visited the deceased's boyfriend, who confirmed he knew nothing about the incident. Shortly after, he also disappeared. The police are currently searching for the boyfriend as the main suspect in the murder."

"Later, a young university student named Hanna was reported missing near where the first murder occurred. We speculate that at least one of the abductees was seriously injured, given the blood found at the last incident site."

After the head of the investigation unit, Captain Díaz, calmly read the details of the case, those listening to his briefing began to move.

"First question: does this relate to our world?" It could be a beast or a deranged lunatic; Ethan needed proof to know if it was within his jurisdiction.

At that moment, Liam entered and said, "It's related to you—they left a message for you."