“Stupid computer…” I whispered as a popup came on the screen. “Why couldn’t the chief get it fixed yet?” I reached my hand into the file cabinet, and found it grasp around the air, that was now case 8. “Oh -!” I stopped halfway “I left the case in the room.”

Along with my coffee, that case was sitting in that chair now surrounded by a gang of hunters that had come to speak with the chief. They were probably one of the hired groups to kill that thing in the woods.

I slowly stood up from my roller chair, glaring at the door that stood at the far end of the room, labeled “Office.” “I need that case…I don’t want them snooping through my research….I worked hard on that.” I began to inch to the door “What if they get mad…they looked like gang members if you ask me.” I kept walking, annoyed that the office door didn’t seem to get any closer “Stupid hunters…it’s their fault I have to interrupt them…they kicked me out.” I kept trying to reason with myself until the door was only inches away. “Ok…here goes….I’ll just beat them up if they try anything.” I put my hand on doorknob and tightened it, to the point where the blood was forced out of my hand “Oh what am I thinking…they looked strong….maybe.” Suddenly I was cut off as the door was thrown open, pulling into the room, my hand with it. I felt my body being jerked into the room as my hand refused to release form the doorknob. Then before I knew it I had hit something hard, then I lost my footing and fell backwards. “Oww….” I whimpered rubbing my hand that had been forcefully detached from the doorknob during my fall. “Watch where you’re going.” I looked up to see someone standing in the doorway, a big man, with ripped sleeves. His skin was tan and lined with muscles, and a dirty red bandana was wrapped around his head, his knotted dirty blond hair folding over it. “Well?” He said sternly. I stared up into his one eye “What?”

“Hey Butch what’d ya’ hit?!” I heard from inside the room.

“Heh, he ran into a secretary or something!” Another laughed.

“Aww Butch you can bully the girls back home, but not these man!”

I heard a fourth voice laugh after that, but then I looked back up into the man’s eyes “I said well?” I glared at him “You want me to apologize?” He nodded, as I got to my feet. “Well…” He raised an eye brown “Sorry, I forgot how.” He glowered at me, and we were both stuck in each others stubborn stares. “Butch, shouldn’t you concern yourself with prey of a stronger stature.” Our stares where broken as he lifted his gaze from me to someone else behind me “And look who is telling me this.” I slowly turned, following his gaze to an eighteen year old boy. He was tall, and wore a tight black sleeves shirt with baggy gray pants. A bandage was wrapped around his left arm up to his elbow, and a leather fingerless glove on his right also reaching up his arm. He was clearly fit, and had a nimble figure, strong and muscular but not bulky. His hair was long and shaggy, most of its dark chocolate colored strands shielding his hazel eye, and his other, electric blue, nearly white, but dim from blindness.

“Why are you here?” The man said in what seemed like an annoyed tone.

The boy smirked “Why? What do you think?”

“Answer me properly.”

“I told you to guess.”

“We don’t need backup!”

“Backup? Do you think I would waste my time protecting your filthy life?” I winced as the man pushed past me making his way towards, who I now suspected to be, the single hunter. I felt a hand grab my arm as Butch’s groupies followed out after him. I turned to see Mr. Thion holding me out of their way “Watch this…I want you to see…why I hired this one.” I felt him pull me into the office as the five left towards the new hunter.

“So you think you can beat us to the catch?!” Butch asked in a surprising anger, his followers standing behind him quietly. “Should I spend my precious time explaining it to you?” Butch raised his head up proudly “I.” He was cut off, and I lost my breath.

The room seemed to freeze in place as Butch was sent across the room, crashing into a desk. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened, but it didn’t take me long to get it. The new hunter had his leg in Butch’s place, and was sitting there motionlessly. The humor that had once played across his face was gone, and the sharpness in his eyes was untouchable. He had high kicked the guy over an entire desk, and sent him spiraling into the next one.

“Do any of you object…?” Suddenly all of the other followers stepped back. “Good, now get your leader, and leave. As you can see I have neither the patience nor the self control to deal with any of you.” I watched in amazement, as he lowered his foot, the others running over to Butch and grabbing him by the arm, hauling him out in seconds.

Thion pulled me back to the doorframe as the visitor began walking towards us. I lifted my once hanging jaw and stood straight against the doorframe. I watched as he put his hands in his pockets and yawned, lifting the intensity of the atmosphere a bit. Yet as he walked past me into the office, our eyes only meet once. It was a quick meeting but the entire time, I glared at him. I wouldn’t let myself be scared, I knew I was stubborn, and yeah it got me into to trouble but this time it didn’t, but something surprised, me. When he returned his eyes to the chief’s desk, he chuckled. What was so funny? I kept the door open as I followed standing behind my chair, as he sat in the other one. The chief was already sitting down, and first I saw him exchange glances with the boy, then look at the case in the chair then at me. When he looked at me though, he waited for a second, then smiled. I didn’t remove the scowl from my face, but finally I started suspecting something when he didn’t change. Finally I glanced over at the visitor. He was smiling slightly too, a satisfied smile.

“What’s so funny!?” I snapped. I heard Mr. Thion speak happily “Oh, nothing, nothing at all.” I gave one last glance at him then I was finally fed up with it I snatched the case sitting in the chair and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind me. “What is wrong with them!?” I said angrily, walking back downstairs. “Did I have something on my face, geez!” I started making my way to the bathroom, and before I knew it was standing in front of a mirror, my mouth wide open. All over my face was blush. I was blushing like mad. I shot towards the sink turning on the water “Not good, not good not good!” I growled. I guess I didn’t realize it, I knew my face was a bit warm but I never thought of this.

This was not good... flush. So wonder he had that smug little smile.

I washed some water over my face, turning the faucet off. I cleaned my face off with a cloth wiping off the water, thered coloringwas gone. “Ok I’ve got to get used to this…this is work…he is a boy…boy at work…no problem.” I grabbed the case exhaling “I can’t believe I’m over reacting this much over a guy…but here it goes. You can do this Selena!” I put my hand on the door and pushed it open, once again making my way upstairs and to the chiefs office. I opened the door without hesitation and both of them looked back at me. I ignored their stares and sat down in the empty chair, holding the case in my lap. “Ah, since you’re back I need to introduce both of you, you are both partners now anyway. I flinched at the word partner, but quickly regained my composure. I wasn’t going to humiliate myself again, they weren’t getting a reaction. “Ok, Selena this is the new hunter from Egypt, his name is Hallow.” We shook hands, both of us keeping eye contact the entire time. Heh, you’re not getting reaction out of me. I held his hand tightly, and he got the message. I felt him tighten his grip. Was he challenging me? I tightened my hand my stare, now a glare. He responded, and I knew it. It was on! “Um…hello?” Both of us pulled back, as the chief interrupted…our…weird little conversation. He was stubborn, I could see it, but I would win…he would never get another reaction out of me.

We both redirected our focus on the chief, who was smiling slightly, as if he understood what that handshake was really about. I guess he knew me well enough to get a good prediction. “Ok you two…Hallow, you already know about the murders...I sent you the information.”

“Yes, but I need the video.”

The chief moved his gaze to me, and of course I had no choice. In a matter of seconds I was unlocking my precious evidence, and pulling out a cell phone encased in a plastic bag.

“Here.” I said putting my hand out towards him, he probably knew I hated this, because he grabbed it slowly…very, very slowly. Well to me it seemed like that. I listened as the baggy unzipped and the cell phone was removed. I could hear is slide open, and before long, buttons were tapping over and over again. I didn’t dare look until I heard a recorded scream. The video was on, and as much as I didn’t want to watch it again, I felt like I needed to.

In the video someone was running, every once and a while you could see their finger or something, but they were filming behind them. They were in the forest and you could tell it was dark, but not much was recorded. At first you heard a loud pounding sound, then a close scream, a little movement that was too dark to see, then the person tripped, and the cell phone went tumbling into something, the camera faced down. All you could see was darkness as a second set of screams filled the speakers, then some weird cracking and ripping noises before everything went quiet again.

“Anything familiar?” The chief interrupted the eerie silence that the video had brought into the open. I looked back at Hallow, and he hadn’t removed his focus from the black screen “Lock the door…and close the window.” His voice was unnaturally cold, and for some reason I felt like he was talking to me, so I followed the orders. “Did you see something?” I said standing up, I hesitated before asking though…he seemed kind of…on edge. “In a moment…wait.” I heard the chief say something quietly as I made my way to the door. “Yes…I might…but pray I’m not right.” I’m guessing he asked Hallow if he knew what it was. After locking the door, I quickly paced over to the window, taking a quick glance out at the darkening sky before locking it as well, and shutting the blinds. “So?” The chief said as I sat back down.

Hallow shut his eyes, flipping the cell phone closed, and laying on the desk “Have you had any new exchange students…maybe…people that have recently come to the town…that are missing?” I glanced over at the chief, I remembered that one. It was case six in the secret department. “Yes…why do you ask?” Hallow opened his eyes, whispering something that we could barely hear “The Missing.”

“What?” Hallow ran one of his hands through his hair “Experienced hunters…tend to call them “The Missing.” I stared at him, blankly, waiting for an explanation. “The missing aren’t animals…more like creatures…this is going to come as a shock to all of you…but these things are nearly immortal.” The chief crossed his arms “So you’re telling me we have some weird immortal animal in our forest?” Hallow chuckled “If you don’t believe me then wait…those hunters that you sent out tonight…aren’t coming back.”