Chapter 1: The Disappearance

Ethan sat in his small, cluttered office, surrounded by stacks of files and half-empty coffee cups. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the exhaustion that seemed to settle in his bones.

He had been working on the same case for weeks now - the disappearance of a young woman named Samantha, daughter of a wealthy businessman who had hired him to find her. He had gone over the evidence countless times, talked to every witness he could find, but so far, he had come up empty-handed.

As he stared at the files on his desk, his phone rang. He sighed and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Ethan, it's Jack. You hear about the murders that have been happening around the city?"

Ethan's interest was piqued. Jack was an old friend and fellow detective, and he had a knack for picking up on things that others missed.

"What murders?"

"Three in the last two weeks. All of them killed in weird ways - broken bones, crushed skulls, like something big and strong did it. But there's no sign of a weapon or a suspect. And get this - one of the victims was drained of blood."

Ethan felt a chill run down his spine. He wasn't a superstitious man, but the idea of a vampire or some other supernatural creature lurking in the shadows of the city was enough to make him uneasy.

"You think there's something more going on here?" he asked.

"I don't know, man. But it's worth checking out. You in?"

Ethan hesitated. He had his own case to worry about, and he didn't want to get sidetracked.

But something in Jack's voice made him reconsider. There was an urgency there, a sense that this was something important.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I'm in."

Ethan met Jack outside a rundown bar on the edge of the city. Jack had already talked to the bartender, who had seen something on the night of the latest murder.

"He said there was a guy in there, big and muscular, with weird eyes," Jack said as they walked inside. "Said he was acting strange, like he was on something."

The bar was dimly lit, and the air was thick with the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke. A few patrons sat hunched over their drinks, casting suspicious glances at the two detectives as they walked in.

Jack headed straight for the bartender, a grizzled old man with a bushy beard and a tired expression.

"Hey, it's Jack," he said, holding out his badge. "You talked to me earlier about the guy you saw?"

The bartender nodded warily.

"What do you want to know?"

"Just tell us everything you remember," Ethan said.

The bartender took a deep breath and leaned in close.

"He was big, like I said. Taller than most guys, with muscles like a wrestler. And those eyes - man, I'll never forget them. They were like...like they were glowing or something. And he had these weird marks on his neck, like bite marks or something. Looked like he'd been in a fight."

Ethan exchanged a look with Jack. It was starting to sound like there was more to this case than they had initially thought.

"Did you get a name?" Jack asked.

The bartender shook his head.

"No, he was just passing through. Seemed like he was looking for something, but I don't know what."

Ethan frowned. This wasn't much to go on.

"Thanks for your help," he said

Ethan and Jack left the bar and headed back to their respective cars. As Ethan got into his beat-up sedan, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something important.

He decided to do a little digging on his own. He knew the city better than anyone, and he had a few contacts who might be able to help him.

He drove to the seedier part of town, where the streets were dark and the buildings were crumbling. He parked the car and got out, pulling his coat tight around him as he walked down the alley.

He had just turned the corner when he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around, reaching for his gun, but it was too late. A shadowy figure leaped out of the darkness, knocking him to the ground.

Ethan struggled to fight back, but the figure was too strong. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then everything went black.

When Ethan came to, he was lying on a cold concrete floor. He tried to sit up, but his head was throbbing and his limbs felt heavy.

He looked around, trying to get his bearings. He was in a small room with no windows, lit only by a single dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was a metal door on one wall, but it was locked tight.

He tried to remember what had happened. Someone had attacked him in the alley - but who? And why?

He tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. He stumbled forward, hitting his head on the wall. As he reached up to rub the sore spot, he noticed something strange.

His hand was covered in blood.

He looked closer and saw that there was a wound on his neck, just below his ear. It looked like a bite mark - but it was too large to be human.

He felt a surge of fear. This was no ordinary attack. He was dealing with something that he had never encountered before.

He knew he had to get out of there. He stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall for support. He tried the door, but it was locked tight.

He looked around the room for anything he could use to break it down. There was a rusted pipe in one corner, but it was too heavy for him to lift.

He was trapped.

Hours passed, or maybe it was days. Ethan wasn't sure. He tried to keep track of time by counting the seconds between the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside, but it was impossible to tell how much time had passed.

He was hungry and thirsty, and his wound was throbbing with pain. He knew he had to find a way out soon, or he would die here in this room.

He paced back and forth, his mind racing with possibilities. Who had taken him, and why? Was it the same person who had killed the three victims? And what was that thing that had bitten him?

As he thought about his situation, he realized that he had been so focused on the Samantha case that he had missed something important. He had been too close to it, too desperate to solve it, and he had missed the bigger picture.

He had to get out of here and find the answers he needed. He couldn't do that if he was trapped in this room.

It was the sound of the lock clicking that brought Ethan back to reality. He spun around, ready to fight, but it was just a guard - a large, burly man with a shaved head and a mean expression.

"Get up," the guard said gruffly.

Ethan stood, swaying slightly. He was weak from hunger and thirst, but he was determined not to show any weakness.

The guard unlocked the door and motioned for Ethan.