3 Sleepers, good night.

The words 'Sleepers' rooted Snow in her spot. Typically, a Sleepers never got a chance to step through the front door. This was something that she had never experienced in her life working here, making everything seem so surreal.

"That's not funny, Tommy." Heather broke the silence, causing Snow to jump out of stupor.

"Come on. You know just as well as there must be some fault in the system."

"Oh, like hell, there is."

Snow cut them off quickly. "That's enough, you two. We got a problem we need to solve." She motioned her head towards the body bag, which right now looked like a crime scene for anyone who stepped through the front door.

The others instantly realized what she meant, and quickly seemed to change their demeanor of the whole situation. Loud humming sound of the fan turned on, initiating the air conditioner. Sudden flows of air pushed forward the metallic smell of iron as Snow felt like any moment now the man would run out screaming, calling for the cops. What surprised her was that he took a step through the door and let the door closed behind him.

"Um…." The man spoke, unsure of the situation before him. His gaze went from left to right, starting from Tommy and eventually landing on Snow, causing her to jerk. "Who are you?" The question left all of them a bit stunned, unsure how to reply until Tommy broke the silence with a bark of laughter.

"This guy must have balls of steel." Tommy bellowed out loud with glee, slapping his stomach. With a loud thunk, the bulletproof vest echoed inside the room.

"Excuse me?" The man asked, confused, unsure if he should slink out of the room or continue to talk with Tommy. "I do not understand what you are talking about…." His voice trailed off, looking at each of them for an answer that no one seemed to give until Tommy continued to respond.

"You walked into a crime scene. That's what." He barked out, laughing with a mischievous grin, causing the man to falter backward, hitting the door. "And now,…..you're next." His smile scared the man, causing him to seem to shrink in size when he already looked small from all the baggy clothes that he wore.

"For Christ's sake." Heather backhand him on his head, annoyed at Tommy's response. "Are you trying to scare the Sleeper?"

The backhand against Tommy caused him to stumble forward. Snow couldn't help but start to break out in laughter. This was too crazy. To see both of them bicker in front of them, while they were in such a situation was so like them that she couldn't help but laugh. Right now, the whole scene probably looked insane in front of the young man, but Snow couldn't help herself. It was just too funny and strange that she just wasn't sure how to cope with it until eventually, she stopped laughing.

Heather, Tommy, Tamaki, and the man stared at her in complete disbelief at her sudden laughter and was silent. It wasn't something that Snow would ever do, which caught them all off guard. They weren't sure what was funny and instead stood there. Snow felt her cheeks turn red as she blushed. She felt stupid for bursting out laughing, in the middle of the room, when things were looking bad. Right now, the Chupacabra probably looked like a dead human than a monster, making this look like a crime scene.

If people got wind of murder outside right now, this would bring unwanted heat to the company, making them either close down or have to move, which doesn't often happen. Dragon Express had been opened for over five hundred years, and to suddenly close down now was a bit too sudden. They had a reputation to keep. Snow could see that each and everyone had their mind racing with different scenarios, trying to figure out how to fix this situation at hand.

Without waiting for him to do anything else, Snow stepped forward towards the man with a gentle smile. She was aiming to keep him from running out and screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night. Especially when she quickly checked the clock and noticed that it was eight pm, meaning that around this time, there was a high chance of people walking around having dinner. Dragon Express was in the middle of a large shopping center and multiple popular strip malls, which had a large number of customers roaming around. Not only that, tonight was Friday, making the large number of Sleepers more active in the mall.

Quickly, Snow tried to handle the situation. "Hello." Her smile stunned the young man, making him blush as his gazed cast downwards for a brief moment embarrassed. He fidgeted a bit and stared back at her as if he was dumbstruck in awe.

"May I ask who you are? And what brings you here?" Snow took another step, getting closer and closer in the hopes to nab him if he runs. If possible, she wanted to cast a forgetful spell, so he would walk out of the store as if nothing happened.

Luckily the man didn't run away and seemed a bit more at ease when Snow stepped forward. Honestly, he seemed to blush even more, making her feel a bit more confident that he won't suddenly bolt off running.

"D-D-Dairen," Dairen replied in a soft voice, turning redder. "I just stumbled through, wondering if this was some Chinese food place…." He then seems to come back to sense as his blush disappears. Looking around, he continued to talk. "Apparently, I was wrong."

"Well," Snow half-heartedly chuckled. "This isn't a Chinese dining place. If you wanted to go to one, there is one down the strip mall five blocks down." Another step was taken, now she was an arm's length away from touching him.

"Ah…." He nodded. "That would be very helpful."

"Is…..there anything else that you would like to know about?" This time, she took a slow step towards him, her hands faced upwards in a welcoming manner. She noticed that he was slightly hunched over, realizing that he was a lot taller than he looked. If he straightened up, she would have probably guessed that he was over 6 feet tall.

Dairen opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say next, he was getting a bit nervous by the sudden closeness as he inhaled the sweet scent of Snow's lavender like the smell from her shampoo. He gulped.

Slowly lifting her right hand, Snow reached over towards Dairen's face. She willed her magical power to gently glow white, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to feel or see the magic that was forming in her hands.

"T-the dead body," Dairen spoke, causing Snow to halt her movement. She swallowed, her eyes darted quickly once to the body bag and then back at him. "W-why is there a monster in there?"

The word monster caught her off guard, causing her to stare back stunned. This wasn't normal for a sleeper human to see the dead body of the beast who was in the body bag. She was sure that even gone, the magic cast on their body won't disappear for three days, and from the fresh smell of blood, it probably wasn't even twenty-four hours since it had died.

"Monster?" Snow asked perplexed on how or why he had said such words.

"Yes." Dairen shook his head up and down slowly, watching Snow's reaction. He was fishing for answers, hoping that what he was seeing was a lie.

Heather hiccupped, utterly stunned at what Dairen had said. Her hand was clenching and unclenching by her side. Tamaki and Tommy was unsure of what to say. They were tensed as if they were ready to leap towards Dairen. Even the loud clicking sound of Lily's typing rung out, which she seemed to not care about the whole situation as she was doing her paperwork. A loud snort and a shake of her head followed after as she went back to focus on her work, but her typing stopped initiating that she was disturbed.

The silence was unbearable, Snow's mind raced with different scenarios and thoughts on how he was able to see past the illusion that was cast on the Chupacabra. It just wasn't possible…..or was it?

"Why is your hand glowing?" Dairen replied, snapping Snow out of stupor.

"Shit!" Heather yelled. "He knows! Get him!" The sudden shout from Heather caused Dairen to quickly stumble backward, hitting the door with a thump.

Snow's hand missed in grabbing Dairen by the shoulder, which caused her to temporarily lose her balance.

Dairen scrambled, pushing the door behind him in a rush to getaway. He sprinted out the door as Snow stumbled behind him, trying to catch him before he slips away.

"Damn it! We can't let him get away!" The shrill scream of Heather caused everyone to react except Lily, who didn't care. All four of them bolted out the door, following behind him through the crowds.

"Someone stop him!" Heather kept shouting. "He's a thief!" People started to stop and turn around to see what all the ruckus was about. Some people moved away to let the four through without hindrance. While the majority were too slow to run out of the way and had caused some collision.

Tommy was one of the unfortunate ones, whose big body made it hard to maneuver through the crowd and had to push people aside, causing people to cry out in surprise from the shove. Quite a few were toppled over because they weren't fast enough to get out of the way.

Tamaki, on the other hand, was zipping through the crowd without too much trouble. Heather, on the other hand, broke her high heels at the worst possible moment by her heels getting caught on the manhole. She tumbled forward with a yell causing others around her to come running over to help.

Snow was quite a bit behind. She saw Darien take a sharp left, followed by Tamaki following hot on his heels. Knowing full well, She couldn't follow any closer, she decided to take a turn through the strip mall where she ran past the shoe shop, clothing stores, and eventually went through the food mart where it was a lot more packed, making it very difficult to maneuver. Just like Tommy, she, unfortunately, had to push some of the people aside just to get through because they weren't fast enough to move.

"Hey!" The man with McD's yelled in anger. A loud crash could be heard as his tray landed on the ground as his fries scattered while his burger got trampled on. The only thing that was saved was the drink that he had in his right hand.

"Sorry!" Snow shouted, knowing full well that she couldn't stop to pay for the wasted food. Grabbing Dairen was a priority, and having a Sleeper loose into the world, knowing about the secrets of the world, was dangerous. There were more than a few instances where some large scale historical events occurred all because a human that knew about the magical community or a magical beast gone out of control.

Snow momentarily stopped in between Pennywick on the left and the Gatabie on the right. She was stuck between choosing which direction to go. If she knew better, people usually took their dominant preferences, which consist of going right, but her gut was telling her to go left. Without questioning her instinct, she sprinted and headed towards J.J Penny.

It didn't even take long, and she saw Dairen wearily walking through the store. When he caught a glimpse of Snow. With a frightened expression, he bolted straight towards the exit out of the mall and into the open street.

Snow cursed. This running was getting old and annoying. She wasn't the type to be a marathon runner, but on the other hand, Dairen seemed like he could run forever.

Both twisted in and out through the streets, eventually leading out and through the tight alleyway. Snow had lost him again.

Breathing heavily, she leaned forward to catch her breath, trying her best to steady her erratic heartbeat. Her mind was in turmoil, wanting to punch the guy for making her run so hard throughout the city. She could feel the sweat running down her back and face, making it that much more disgusting. The thought of taking a shower had repeatedly crossed her mind, but taking down Dairen was her goal at this minute. To see him wiped clean of his memory was frequently brought up in her mind in the hopes to not cause any more unnecessary trouble.

Snow took in a couple more deep breaths, quieting her ragged breathing, and stood up straight. She noticed that she was in between an abandoned factory and a three-story old apartment building.

Only a few people were out and about driving or walking. Most not even giving her any attention. She felt a sudden chill, not because of the summer breeze that just blew past her, but an unsettling feeling of something being wrong. It was an instinctual feeling of worry, unease, and paranoia, all wrapped in a bundle. If she knew any better, she might have assumed she came to the wrong neighborhood where dark energy resided. They were plenty of hot spots where such a place existed, and to stumble on one personally, put her on edge. She realized too late she was in the wrong area as she quietly cursed at her ill-fortune.

Scanning from left to right, she watched her surroundings in the hopes to not get caught by the unexpected. Even the streetlight flickered on and off, buzzing loudly at the quiet night. Tree leaves and bushes rustled. Snow snapped towards the direction of the sound and found a gray cat prowling close by.

"Where did he go…" Snow's voice was low as it came close to a whisper. She continued to talk with herself to get rid of the unease welling up in her heart. She could see the air thick with dark miasma, floating in the air like speckled dist. It wasn't something ordinary people would be able to see or even many of the magical community. She was the rare few who could, and it was a gift that helped her stay out of trouble many times, but now the thought of entering into concern was something she didn't quite like or want to do.

Willing up her courage, knowing full well that her job was on the line, she trudged forward.

She went away from the abandoned factory, knowing full well that the heaps of dark energy congregated in that one spot. Someone like her going through that tainted region was like having a death wish, she knew whatever was haunting that place was dangerous. Without proper gears, amulets, or not even being prepared for the outcome, was a risky gamble.

She prowled around the edges of the factory to see if new tracks broke through or over the fence. Luckily, there wasn't a single footprints or freshly cut branches headed towards the direction and instead head towards the apartment.

With a bit of relief, she headed straight towards it. Her hand reached over towards the old, flaked door, twisting and turning it in the attempt to open it. At first, it didn't want to budge and let her through, until she had to use a bit more force than the door eventually gave way for her to enter.

A thick smell of mildew and stale air wafted out the door, causing her to cough a few times. What welcomed her were old walls with chipped yellow paint that was on the borderline of turning brown. The winding stairs that had wooden rails swayed easily from the wind that blows through the front door. Loud squeaking and groaning sound of the wind could be heard from the movement alone. Checkered tiles decorated the floor, while brown beams decorated along the side with the yellow paint.

Snow stepped in, scanning the area around her to look for any noticeable hints that would tell her where Dairen went. She walked through the first floor. She could hear the blatant, loud sounds of T.V being played on the CBN with loud buzzing like sound.

Continuing forward, she explored the second floor. Compared to the 1st floor, the hallways were kept clean without as many smudges and dirt. Eventually, she headed towards the third.

Nothing. Snow knew she had lost Dairen trails and felt frustrated. Mainly because she wasted her time here in the building. Turning around to go back down, a sudden loud sound of breaking glass could be heard, followed by a thud.

Surprised and confused, Snow halted. She scanned around, trying to find the source. It wasn't even two doors down when Snow noticed a wooden door that was partially opened. She heard a painful groan with a muffled shuffle that sounded like a struggle. Instantly, her heart rate raised as she needed to pass the door to go down the stairs.

How she could have missed the cracked open door, the first time she came up here, she didn't know and could only speculate. The last thing she remembered was that all the doors were closed when she came up to the third floor.

Snow assumed that someone came right behind her as she explored the area.

Biting her lower lips, she quietly walked past the door, but the sudden loud thunk caused her to freeze in front of the partially opened door. Her head robotically turned towards the crack as she saw movement.

What welcomed her was a messed up room. Upturned sofas, chairs, scattered clothes that seemed to be shredded. It was as if a tornado had ruined the apartment. In it was a masked man. His face was partially covered up with a black scarf, wearing a baseball cap, a streamlined black jacket, and pants. He wasn't buff, but she knew the man was no pushover from the way he held himself. Proud of his skill with a calm demeanor that didn't seem to have any anger associated with it, which wasn't normal. Most murders she had heard about had some kind of swirling emotions related to them, but there wasn't any that she could see.

The weird part that happened next was that this man started to flicker in and out almost like a ghost. Even the scenery around him seems to change as the room bled through a different time zone or area of a castle. Completely baffled at what she was seeing, she blinked a few times to make sure she didn't see things.

Quickly, she noticed that there were starting to form speckled dark energy that she saw from the abandoned factory building, causing her to become even tenser. For mysterious power to create in such a situation meant that there was a dark force or a creature that was present and possibly also forming as she stood there. But the melding of two areas made no sense as she couldn't figure out what exactly was going on.

Snow couldn't quite see his face, because he was looking downwards towards a dead male body. Which she caught a glimpse of. He was a dirty blond male with a sharp beak nose and curly hair. His eyes were curled backward, showing the white of his eyes. A mole was situated under his left cheek, where he a large ugly cut was slashed across the bridge of his nose and upwards in a funky U shape.

Without realizing it, she took a sharp intake of breath, startled at the murder scene before her. The thing that bothered her wasn't the dead body, but the violence committed behind the murder with malice that made her stomach churn. It wasn't one or two stabs but multiple and mutilated.

Then a haunting tune erupted from the killer's lips that made her completely freeze. A sudden shock of goosebump ran up and down her body. It was the exact tune of a song that was stuck in her head the past three days. Momentarily thought of escape was utterly gone, and what entranced her was the haunting tone of whistling that gripped her heart in fear.