Dorian and the others were at a small restaurant in the city center, the evening sun slowly beginning to set in the horizon. As Dorian took a bite of the local delicacy, crunch wheat fried chicken, he looked at the others, who were slowly picking away at their food. "Looks like I'm the only one who has an appetite tonight."
Digby looked at Dorian and sighed. "Sure looks like it. I don't know...I keep seeing the body in my mind, and not knowing what's going on is starting to eat away at me."
Olive nodded. "I knew at some point I'd have to see a dead body but seeing one this early into our time at the academy...I wasn't prepared. Not to mention that whoever did this is still out there, and we aren't any closer to figuring out who he is than when we first started."
Dorian nodded. "Yeah, and that's been eating away at me too, but please, force yourselves to eat at least something. You're going to need all the energy you can get."
Farnell gave a confused look at Dorian. "Why's that?"
"Remember, not only are we helping investigate these disappearances, but we also have to investigate this 'shadow' person that's been stalking the streets. So far, this person has only come out at night, so we'll have to spend at least some time patrolling the streets...together."
Digby sighed. "I honestly completely forgot about that...so not only do we have a crazed killer kidnapper, but there's also this mysterious figure prowling the streets."
Farnell took a small bite from his food. "Doesn't this seem a bit out of our league? We're just students, and yet we're being assigned to tasks like this. I doubt the other group is being told to do anything close to this."
Digby shook his head. "I doubt it. I have a feeling the reason why we were selected for these two destinations is because they both had tasks of a similar nature. I just don't know why they decided to throw us into the fire so to speak."
Olive sighed. "I have no idea why, but at least if something were to happen, we could get in contact with the colonel. Maybe we could have someone from the military with us if we were to ask?"
Dorian shook his head. "I doubt it. I'm pretty sure the reason why we were given these tasks from the higher ups is because they don't have the manpower or resources to deal with all of this. They have their orders that need to be carried out, and apparently these two investigations aren't a part of their orders."
Digby took another bite of his food. "Well, what do we know about this mysterious person rather than just it's someone who walks the streets at night?"
Farnell shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing else really other than he's been spotted in both the city center and the outskirts, and that he apparently kidnapped a child." 165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKUSyfX8Ul
Dorian nodded. "And to top it off, there hasn't been a missing child report. Maybe the child was homeless?"
Olive nodded. "Either that, or maybe the child's parents were also attacked."
"That's a possibility. Though until we can get more information, we can only make conjecture. We need to go out and patrol the streets and hope we can get some more information."
Digby looked at Dorian. "So, since he's been spotted in multiple areas of the city, should we split up and cover more ground?"
Dorian vigorously shook his head. "Absolutely not. We have no idea who or what this person is or what he's capable of. We need to stick together to be safe."
"I agree with Dorian." Olive said, having eaten more of her dinner. "I'd feel much safer if we were all together."
Digby sighed and nodded. "Sounds good then. So where should we start our patrol?"
"How about right here? We'll go on a stroll from here, patrol the city center, go to the outskirts and pass the two crime scenes in the process, then head to the fort and work on our reports." Dorian said, giving everyone a quick look to gauge their reactions.165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6si8eBWZVl
Everyone nodded their heads, agreeing with Dorian. "Sounds good." Digby said, pushing his polished plate away. "Maybe if we tell the Colonel what's going on he'll do his best to get us other tasks to do in the process."
Olive and Farnell both nodded in agreement, finishing their meal. Dorian looked at them and at the exit to the building. "So, since we're done, should we get going now?"
Digby stood up and nodded. "No time like the present."
Olive and Farnell slowly stood up as well, making sure they had their weapons, with Farnell grabbing his staff that was leaning against the wall. After paying for their meal at the exit, everyone left the restaurant and out onto the street. The sun had just set, and the artificial lights from the city illuminated the streets. Despite it being warm in the afternoon, the temperature had already quickly dropped.
"It feels like we're in a completely different city." Olive said, looking around. "It's crazy how a city can look so different with the only change being the sun going down."
Dorian nodded and stretched his arms in the air. "It does feel like it's a different feel for sure. Let's get a move on though. The city center should be about a twenty-minute walk from here. Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious, especially in areas in which there's no other people."
The others nodded their heads and followed Dorian as he walked to the left. At this point in the evening, there were still plenty of people walking the streets, most of them looking like people who were on their way home from work. Dorian glanced around him, making sure there was no immediately suspicious people around before instinctively feeling for his swords. If we find this mysterious shadow man...and he made Miriam feel like her life is in danger...I'd best be prepared for what happens next.
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