“Are you sure we’re up to the task? Because for us being just students, this seems to be something that’s waaay beyond what we’re capable of.” Farnell nervously said as he and Olive lagged behind Dorian and Digby.
“I agree.” Olive said, fear evident in her voice. “I would understand if we were asked to guard the crime scene, but to actually try to track down this guy? Without backup close by? I think we’ve been assigned a task that essentially amounts to suicide.”
Digby sighed. “Unfortunately, this is a request directly from Jac, and somehow, someway, our wonderful instructor approved after getting the call asking for permission. Like it or not, if we refuse, we might as well pack up our belongings and leave the academy, as we’d instantly fail. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I could face my parents after telling them that I flunked out of the academy. That’s a fate worse than death.”
Dorian chuckled. “While I don’t necessarily think it’s quite THAT serious, Digby is right in that if our instructor gave permission after getting called, and if we refuse, we’ll fail. Plus, I’m sure she wouldn’t agree to something she doesn’t think we’re not capable of handling.” Well there’s that and I’m sure she agreed because she wants to see what I’m capable of. I just hope I’m able to meet her and Miriam’s expectations.
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“And as I tried to tell you from the very beginning, this has been nothing but a diversion from the start. That source of yours was absolutely wrong.” Miriam was talking into her phone as she stood on the back of the train, her voice lowered to make sure no one would overhear her. “The only thing I found there was a scared old man who had been threatened to make the report, otherwise his store would have been burned down, with he and his family inside. His description of the person who threatened him matches the description of one of our primary targets, but also that the man is now long gone from the area. I’m on my way back quickly to Arstead. I’ve also been told by Monica about what happened there. Dorian is going to need some backup.”
There was an audible sigh on the other end of the phone. “Fine…I’ll admit I was a bit off, though that was also because they knew about who to threaten and who to report it to. Jordan is one of my most trusted informants, so I trusted him when he told me about a possible threat.”
“I don’t blame you for what happened. I just hope there aren’t any unintended consequences…or additional lives lost. Supposedly Jac has Dorian and his classmates searching for the shadow man as well as several other squads while he’s investigating the massacre. I’ll be there within a couple hours and will take over from there so he can do what he does best.”
“Good. I’ll be expecting a detailed report from both you and Dorian by the time this is all done.”
“Sir, with all due respect, Dorian was never an official member of the agency. He doesn’t need to report any–”
“He’s been a part of this investigation ever since you’ve left. He’ll have some additional information and a different point of view than we do. Besides, he owes all of us, big time. I can’t imagine any scenario in which he wouldn’t comply with a request for a simple report.”
“...agreed. Anyways, I’ll call you when we’re ready to give a report.” Miriam immediately hung up the phone and sighed. “Just let the guy live a normal life for once…”
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“Are you sure we’re even on the right track? We haven’t seen any trace of this shadow man thankfully, but that doesn’t mean we should continue to push our luck.”
Digby glanced back at Farnell and shook his head. “Stop whining already. Most likely all we’ll be doing tonight is just walking around aimlessly, bored out of our minds. I’m sure our instructor will love hearing about our leisurely night walk and all the…incredible sights we’ve seen consisting of brick buildings, moldy walls, and dirty roads.”
Dorian chuckled. “There definitely isn’t going to be any demand for our scenic route stroll that’s for sure.”
Digby laughed. “If there was, we’d be rich qui–” Digby immediately stopped talking and looked around. “Anyone…anyone else suddenly feel uneasy?”
Olive gasped and quickly spun her head around, looking for anything out of place. Farnell grabbed the hilt of his sword, his palms sweating. “I–I don’t feel anything…w-what’s going on?”
Digby snorted, unable to hold back his laughter. “You should see the look on your faces! Come on! There’s nothing to be worried about!”
Olive glared at Digby. “That’s far from funny, Digby! People have died because of this person! This is no laughing matter!”
Digby scoffed and shook his head. “You thought it was funny, right Dorian? ….Dorian?”
The three of them looked at Dorian, who had his swords out. “Digby…you may have been joking…but that feeling I had earlier tonight…I’m feeling it again.”
Their eyes widened as everyone took out their weapons. Dorian slowly walked forward, slowly scanning his surroundings before he saw a silhouette of a man at the entrance of an alley. Oh boy…
Dorian slowly approached the figure, swords in hand, ready for an attack. “Excuse me! You there! Can you come here please?”
The silhouette didn’t move at all, staying still as Dorian slowly closed the distance between them. Digby, Farnell, and Olive were all frozen in place, unable to move thanks to the fear they were feeling at that moment. As Dorian was now at arms length of the man, he stopped, pointing one of his swords at him. “Sir, you’re under suspicion of murdering several officers, as well as kidnapping. Please come in quietly, or we will be forced to use–”
Dorian, in the corner of his eye, spotted a glimmer from something metallic as it approached him. Quickly jumping back, the dagger missed his throat by less than an inch. Immediately, the man dashed down the alleyway, Dorian right behind him. “Get help!” Dorian shouted to the three others, who had finally begun to move again. Digby ran after Dorian as Farnell and Olive quickly got on the phones, calling for backup.
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Dorian dashed down the alleyway, his eyes never letting the man out his his sight. As the man ran, he knocked over some boxes and barrels, whatever he could find that would slow Dorian down. Deftly avoiding the obstacles, Dorian continued the pursuit, keeping his swords out as he chased after the man
The alleyway had a sharp right turn, which both Dorian and the man made with ease, but right into a dead end. With nothing but walls around them, Dorian stood in the way of the only clear escape route. “Give it up!” Dorian said, slightly out of breath, getting into his fighting stance. “There’s no way out of this!”
The man took out two daggers, pointing them to the ground, not moving a muscle. The same sense of unease and dread came about Dorian, who tried his best to ignore those feelings. Just what is he doing to cause this?
Dorian took a step closer to the man, only for the man to dash at him, again trying to slash Dorian’s throat. Dorian quickly blocked the strike with his left sword and swung his right at the man, who ducked under the blow with unnatural speed before kicking at Dorian, knocking him back. As Dorian looked back up, expecting another strike, he instead saw the man already at the top of the wall to his right, jumping down and out of sight. Almost immediately afterwards, Digby arrived behind Dorian, looking around. “Where’d he go?!” Digby asked, his anger and annoyance dripping from his voice.
“Up and over the wall…in less than a second at that…” Dorian also noticed that the sense of dread was also gone, causing him to shiver a bit. “Whoever that man is, he’s unnaturally agile and somehow able to mess with people’s emotions. Farnell and Olive were right. This is way too much for us to handle by ourselves.”
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