CHAPTER TWO

Alice stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her body looked pale and her yes had dark spots around it. It also looked heavy and almost brown, signs that she hasn't been sleeping well. She sighed to herself. Life hadn't been pretty fair with her. She moved to a chair close by and sat briefly. She took in deep breaths trying to calm herself down. Leaving this house was not as easy as she had thought. It held memories that she didn't want to let go.

This was where she ever found happiness and was loved unconditionally by someone. Streams of tears dripped down her cheeks. She hadn't even realized she was already crying. Her mind flashed to her early life. She never saw her parents. Sometimes she wondered if they were still alive. Why they had to let her go, who she was, what she was. She grew up more in foster homes. They tried their best for her and she was grateful to them. They however didn't give her the love and affection she was craving for. Nothing can be compared to the love from your real parents

Her husband however was very loving and calm. The most patient man she had ever met. And her beautiful daughter. Fate however didn't want her happiness and stripped that from her. They died in the worst way possible. She broke into more tears. The pain came sharp tearing her from the inside. She cried loudly cursing and kicking. Life was hell. The only thing she had now was her job. This new case she was assigned to was going to be her personal assignment. She needed to find those killers.

After hours of crying she stood up and moved to pack her remaining loads. She didn't have much loads so she only used a single suitcase to pack everything she had. She moved towards the door and took one quick glance at the house. She sighed heavily and then went away towards the awaiting car. Mrs. Bakes approached her. Her face was packed with emotions.

"I hope you find what you're looking for", she said sobbing silently.

Alice tried a smile. Mrs. Bakes was an unconditional friend and no matter how much she didn't want to admit it she was going to miss her terribly. They stared at each other for some seconds before they broke into a hug. It was long and full of emotions. Alice thought it'll last forever. " I'll miss you" she said softly.

"I know" Mrs Bakes replied, "I'll miss you more". They later released each other. Alice cleaned her tears. "Take care" she said. The driver who had been staring at them collected her load and placed it in the boot before proceeding to the door. He was impatient with their delays but didn't want to interrupt. Alice walked into the car and made herself comfortable on her seat. She waved back at Mrs. Bakes who continued waving at her.

The car was ignited and the driver hit the accelerator as it zoomed towards the airport. Alice took her time to rest a little. After about twenty minutes drive she finally reached the airport. She alighted from the car. She collected her bag from the boot and the driver bid her farewell before he zoomed off. She walked into the airport and after confirming her tickets and other essential documents she was directed to the airplane.

She walked into the plane carefully and settled on her seat. After a while the plane took off from the airport. The flight was peaceful and calm. Alice slept almost throughout the flight. She was feeling a little bit nauseous and she guess it was her lack of rest that caused it. She took her time to rest in the plane.

The plane finally arrived in Atlanta. The pilot's voice through the speaker was what woke her up. She fastened her seatbelt as it landed in the airport. Soon she had cleared her way through the checkpoints and clearance points. She walked outside the airport dragging her suitcase along with her. She had been given an address of an apartment where she was to stay while in Atlanta so she held it on her palm as she stopped a cab.

"Where to ma'am?" The driver asked. She read out the address to him and he pondered briefly on it before nodding his head in the affirmative for her to get in. She slid her luggage into the boot before getting into the backseat.

The drive was smooth. "Are you here to stay or just visiting?". The man asked.

"Not sure yet" she replied, "I came on an official assignment but the outcome will determine how long I'll stay here."

The man shook his head but didn't press further. "Be careful around here". he warned.

"Why?" Alice asked curiously.

"People get missing a lot around here, rumors have it that beast in form of men consume people in the night for sports."

"Interesting, do you believe all that?" Alice asked.

"Nah" he replied almost immediately, "but local folks around here strongly believe in it. They may be wrong but you can't take the fact that people get missing quite a lot around here."

"How about people who have their skin peeled off from their body?" She asked. "What do you think happened to them?"

"Probably they pissed off the wrong people,such things don't happen here often. Its mostly people getting missing. Its about two weeks ago that we started seeing bodies with their skin peeled off from their body on our streets. Local folks believe its a form of punishment or warning."

"Warning against what?"

"Don't know ma'am, can't say. This world has turned into another thing else. People are becoming monsters."

"I know that for sure", Alive said as images of her daughter and husband flashed in her eyes.

"Okay we're there" he announced as he applied the brakes and came to a halt. "Thanks for the Info's", Alice said as she alighted and paid him. She also retrieved her luggage from the boot.

"Don't forget what I said" he reminded her. "Don't get too familiar with this place and don't go about at night, could be dangerous."

Alice smiled at him." Thanks" she said.

He smiled back and nodded his head before zooming off. Alive walked into the apartment. She felt grateful that she had already began making investigation. She hoped it would eventually lead somewhere and not wild goose chase like before. She picked the key to the apartment from her purse and opened the door to the building. It was better than she anticipated. She went inside. It was well furnished. The cushions were made with very good fabric and the curtains matched with the color of the room. The lighting was also superb and the room was more like homely. She proceeded to check the bedroom. It was exquisite. The bed was massive and its fabric was smooth and warm much more to her taste. She sighed deeply as she collapsed on the bed. She enjoyed the feeling. She closed her eye for some seconds before forcefully opening them and standing up.

She proceeded to the kitchen. There was an espresso machine sitting at a corner there. She smiled to herself. This was not what she was expecting. Her boss was very kind.

She made herself a plate of guacamole. She mixed an appropriate amount of all the ingredients and she later settled down to feast on it. Later she arranged her luggage and organized the house much more to her taste. She went to her room and arranged her cloths in the wardrobe. While she was trying to fix one of the cloths which she attached to a hanger into the cabinet she saw something fall from the top of the wardrobe. It was probably hanging at the edge and when she was constant shaking the wardrobe it must have slipped and fell.

Her eyes went there momentarily and as soon as she saw it she froze. She wasn't expecting this. She bent and picked it up staring at it. It was a necklace. It held a symbol in the middle. The necklace looked familiar. She immediately reached for her neck and grabbed the necklace that was there. She looked at it and compared it to the one on her hand. A gasp slipped through her throat. It was exactly the same thing. That necklace was the only thing her parents left her with when they gave her away. Now exactly the same necklace was sitting in another apartment in Atlanta. She closed her eyes to process everything. Something was very wrong.

She tried to think of the possibility of it being a coincidence but something told her it wasn't. There wasn't room for coincidence in her world