《The Dark Times》Article 37 - Rip and Tear, ADI Investigation Chapter 3

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The recognisable bell and announcer, over the speaker system. "Calling at Swansea, our final stop and thank you for travelling with us."

"David, we've arrived", I told him even as we heard screeches and the decline of any movement through the windows. The concrete platform marked with yellow lines and white arrow, showed the exit, even with the simple layout of the train station not needing the directions.

David grumbled collecting the pieces of paper on the table and shoving them into his bag, which he swung over one arm Saying "Yeah, I heard let's go find our hotel."

Moving toward the easily seen exit, we saw a hotel straight across from them, walking past it and down the long street they came to an alleyway one of many that looked very similar. It was here we encountered the first indications of the war, upon entering our hotel and the ruckus sound of cheering, drinking and the dull thuds of meat on meat as a man skidded across the reception's marble floor—the sound of dozens of skittering little pieces of something trailing behind the man.

When I bent over to pick one up, I found them to be Vampire teeth, having pulled them out of someone the only question that came to my mind was whether they were alive or died before removal.

This didn't seem to faze David as he stepped over to the reception desk who seemed just as unfazed, It's gaze holding it's icy blue eye focused on David who skipped any pleasantries "We have a room for a David D, a twin room."

The receptionist took it in stride as he glanced down before answering with a raised eyebrow. He looked back at David and said, "Yes, we have a booking for under that name, already paid for by the ADI. You're room on the second floor, here's your key, room two hundred and thirty-two, breakfast will be served at seven to ten-thirty in there."

The reception indicated the door that the man was just a minute before he flew out, who was getting wobbly to his feet. The head which had popped out from the door were whispering excitedly and pointing at us some seemed curious others looked scared and most had some mean looks throwing around them.

The receptionist asked, "Do you have any special dietary requirements?"

David is shaking his head in answer, taking the key and heading to our rooms. Where we dumped our luggage, and I followed David back out of the hotel to see a fight within the bar area. But ignoring it, we picked up as taxi to the Police station a glass, brick building that is well kept and clean. we move to the reception where David took out an ID card from his staring at the weak human on the other side of the plastic screen and said, "Hello, here I form Scotland Yard the Cloud division here to look into a case 661."

The receptionist had a confused expression, but typed something into the computer, "Ah, yes we've got you down as a specialised investigator, I'll let the lead Gareth on the case know you're here."

They waited there in the lobby, for a few minutes before a middle-aged man walked into the room where when spoked us he smiled and shook David's hand, "Glad you're here, Let's go to my office, and we can talk."

Following him several floors up he encountered close his door started speaking getting straight to the point, "I brought this case to the ADI attention when this case came up because it was very unusual by all reports this woman had declined in recent month. After years of health existents, she one started losing a lot of weight, with no seeming cause no boyfriend, finances were healthy and her health was excellent apart from the malnourishment.

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Then she ended herself by tearing the muscles of her own body.

From the autopsy, it was found that she had used a sharp instrument to make the initial cut and separation and then used her hand and tore the rest off. At first, I thought that it was murder, but everything about it points in the more magical direction; first, there was no evidence of fighting or struggle.

There are signs under the fingernails as she had her DNA under them, now that magic I kept out of all reports and that was that she ripped out her own muscles on both sides she'd somehow managed to gather the strength and endurance to do it two both.

Then there's the skill at which it was done she managed to miss the majority of her prominent vein so she didn't instantly die but must have suffered."

There was a whistle from David as he listened, "That is quite horrific, I can see why you call for me, I'm just wondering what you did with any evidence?

The investigator nodded and got up, heading for the door where he showed us the way to the top floor and the evidence room, which had a secret evidence room for anything that might be suspected to be magical. Grabbing a wooden, carved box, he placed it on an equal carved wooden table which glowed to indicate that it had activated.

David then spoke saying "Thank you, officer, we'll tell you what we find and get back to you, is the house at our beck and call?"

Replying, "Yeah, I'll leave instruction on the location of the house, by the receptionist and let the officer in the area know you're going to be visiting."

Getting a nod from David who opened the box, as a popping of air was sucked in. Having done his task, the investigator gave a slight bow to David, receiving a glare in return and moved out of the room which resealed behind him.

David placed some gloves on, picking out some items: the essential toiletries, bathrobes, towels and phones.

Taking out the toothpaste he started separating the items, checking them over before putting in different piles, asking what he was doing I received a cold glare, in turn, he stayed quiet, before sighing. "I'm logical categorising the items in these boxes for the one which is most likely to have caused the incident. We have some information we can get a good idea to work on, so I'm separating those items that might be the cause of the event. We have the category of things that might not be right holders of magic for the task it set out. So we are looking for something that is supposed to have made someone tear their body apart.

We have these bathrobes, toothpaste and this shaving blade which I'll assume she used for her dissection. We'll have to take a look at the building and see if anything within the house could cause this."

Pulling out a plastic bag he placed the offending items into it, after which he knocked on the door which opened and left the building before stopping at the reception desk and receiving the directions to the house, picking up a taxi.

We arrived at a series of houses which had no gardens but the front door led straight out onto the street. Moving past the tape, David gave me some strict instructions, "Don't touch anything assume everything in here can kill you."

The living room was as standard as any other person with cream painted walls, flat screen tv and a couch. David methodically moved through the room, looking at every crack and space and moving along to the kitchen, which led onto the large backyard. I watched as he walked through the kitchen opening and closing cupboards and the fridges, checking the rubbish bins and knives running his fingers across them. Looking out of the back yard, David stopped and just seemed to stare out of the window.

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It was a minute before David opened the door to the back yard, and walked outside, he looked through the compost bin, moving onto the little shed. With a creak opened the door, putting his head through I follow taking a peek only to find every looking normal with shears, regular gardening equipment. Moving back into the house they moved upstairs where he then moved into one of the bedrooms and again David moved through it, checking everything even an apparent secret draw. Nothing was seemingly drawing his attention they ran out of it and into the last bedroom which went the same way as the first.

Finally, we moved into the still bloody mess. Blood splattered across the Walls, and the floor painted with it. Moving forward, David stepped from raise platform to raise the platform, looking around and checking everything from under the bath to the top of the bathroom cabinet mirror.

They walked out of the house, and David started walking down the road, ignoring everything around him as he walked only stopping before the restaurant where he entered the sitting at a table he ordered his food. I finally managed to get to ask "So what have you found out what you wanted?"

He leaned back in his chair tottering on the edge, and he replied, "I've got a better idea then I did earlier, it was curious that her habits had changed in such a few weeks, it's definitely magically in nature. Her fridge was empty of food, and so were her rubbish bins but her compost bins had a few weeks old foods still rotting on top, with nothing fresh being added for a while. At most, the change of attitude could be about a month ago.

What that means is that it most likely wasn't a possession, more like to be a curse or magical item. Something that would have to have been around here a lot to most likely take effect, so as you must have seen I searched the building every gap, well I was looking for an area of effect curse bundle. Our victim might have angered a witch, so she cursed her back, but there weren't any signs of a witch curse, and the report said she was an introvert, very friendly with happy neighbours.

So at the moment, I believe the razor was the cause of damage, but the bathrobe was the magical item that caused her to be pushed over the edge into killing herself."

I was surprised at how David had analysed the process and using logic discover the most likely culprit. My thought turned to return home having spent a single day working on this case. However, my opinion was interrupted by David as he engulfed his food, "We only have half the answer we now have the more difficult task of solving the why this Magical item excites. Seeing if we can't solve its mysteries, or if we need to destroy the item with its soul still attached."

My eyes rose in surprise as it assumed that we were finished, having never thought of the person behind the magical item most like having lost their lives, and then creating this item as their souls moved along in the circle. "So what will we be looking for?"

Having finished his dinner, in the minutes of silence, we had rested back into his chair looking down at his third drink. "Well we'll be finished today, but tomorrow we'll head to the police station and start investigating this bathrobe, It's safely contained so it shouldn't be able to manipulate anyone. This was quite an easy one since it wasn't a murder magical item but a suicidal one.

As for what we are looking for, they mostly have some form of eating disorder most likely having anorexia. The bathrobe must have had a former owner so we'll have to find out how, and see if there is anything we can do."

We headed back to the hotel, where we encountered a small war happening in the building. The floor was splattered with blood. There were bodies everywhere, and the hotel reception was still standing behind the counter staring uncaringly at them and the chaos around.

David tip-toed over the corpses and said to the receptionist, "Hello there, I'm just wondering what's happening here?"

The man with blue eyes smiles "Oh only a small kerfuffle with a small group of elite vampires coming into my business and attacking some of my guests... My apologies for the mess hopefully they'll keep their business out of my own from now on. It'll be cleaned up and ready before dinner finishes, perhaps you'd like some refreshment before you retire. The bar is still open."

I excused myself from the invite as I've not got the stomach of alcohol and quite a bit of work to do, but David agreed and disappeared into the bar area.

Disappearing up the stairs I ready myself for bed before the hotel phone rang, it was the receptionist asking me, "Sorry to disturb, but do you think you could come down and collect Mr.Davis as he made quite the mess and I seem unable to control him."

Scratch my hair, replying," Yeah, I'll give it a try."

Heading down to the much clearer marble-floored and carved wooden walled reception area, he walked into where the bar should be found, a very nervous bartender, behind a wooden bar filled with sparkling glass and cold tapes. The bartender was pouring with a shaking hand a frothy beverage. There at the bar was David, sitting at the only stool along the bar, around him was a chaotic mess, blood, fangs and dislodged claws and a vast amount of broken wood.

I felt a presence arrive behind me, looking around he was the owner with his blue eye. Who was nervously staring at David but still somehow managed to plaster a smile on his face? "Sorry again for calling as you can see, he's quite already if very drunk since he's on his tenth drink, I won't be kicking anyone out since it was the ones on the floor, seeing a human as prey instead of what he is an ADI agent. But I would much appreciate it if you could get him to his room so that I can repair and take care of these overly confident werewolves?"

I nodded "I'll see if I can move him, Sorry about the damage."

The owner shrugged "I run a bar of monsters whose love to fight everything in here is enchanted to the auto repair cost me a lot but as you can see well worth it, so worry not yourself it'll be fine."

Nodding my thanks, I move forward. I called out to him, David turned on his stool and grinned his eye, staring at me, I called out and said "Hey, David, perhaps you'd like to head to bed. We have work to do tomorrow."

Grunting he got up barging past myself and walked toward the stairs where there were rooms where struggling to get through I managed somehow to get him into our bedroom only for him to collapse onto his bed fully clothed and fell asleep instantly.

I joined him in sleep about an hour later after he stopped snoring.

Byline Starfury

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