Chapter 4: Howling Darkness
1249 Words
"Again!" Ava screamed with a toothbrush in her mouth.
Ava arrived at the crime scene and was greeted by a group of police officers and detectives who were already there, huddled around the body. She could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air and felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Despite years of dealing with the aftermath of violence, it never got any easier.
"Detective Bennett," Ava greeted Jackson as she approached. "What do we have here?"
"Another victim," he replied, his eyes grim. "Just like the others. We've got a serial killer on our hands."
Ava knelt down beside the body and examined it closely. The woman had been young, probably in her early twenties, with long, dark hair and a delicate, heart-shaped face. Her throat had been slashed, and her body had been left in a pool of blood. But unlike the other victims, there was something different about this one.
"What's wrong?" Jackson asked, noticing the frown on Ava's face.
"This doesn't fit the pattern," Ava said, standing up and dusting off her pants. "The other victims were all supernaturals, but this one... she's human."
Jackson looked taken aback. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Ava replied, looking around the crime scene. "And there's something else. Look at the way she's been positioned."
Jackson followed Ava's gaze to where the woman's body lay, twisted and contorted in an unnatural way. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know yet," Ava admitted. "But I have a feeling this is important. We need to find out who this woman is and why she was targeted."
As Ava and Jackson continued to examine the crime scene, they were interrupted by the arrival of another detective, a young man named Mike. Mike was new to the precinct and eager to make a name for himself, but he had a tendency to be overzealous and sometimes got in the way of Ava's investigations.
"What do we have here?" Mike asked, striding up to them with a self-assured grin.
"A homicide," Jackson said shortly, not bothering to introduce him to Ava.
"Well, I hope you guys know what you're doing," Mike said, eyeing Ava skeptically. "I've heard some pretty strange rumors about the kind of cases you guys work."
Ava bristled at the insinuation, but before she could respond, her attention was drawn to a nearby alleyway. She could hear the sound of footsteps approaching, slow and deliberate.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, her hand drifting instinctively towards her pocket, where she kept a vial of protective herbs.
Jackson and Mike exchanged a look, but before they could respond, a figure emerged from the shadows. It was a man, tall and lean, with piercing blue eyes and shaggy blond hair. Ava recognized him immediately as Patrick Donovan, a young werewolf who had been hovering on the fringes of the investigation.
"What are you doing here, Donovan?" Jackson asked, his tone brusque.
"I heard about the murder," Patrick replied, his eyes flickering towards Ava. "I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help."
Ava eyed him warily, but something in his expression made her pause. There was a vulnerability there, a hint of genuine concern that seemed out of place in someone who had been accused of betraying his own kind.
"Alright," she said, nodding towards the crime scene. "But stay out of the way and don't touch anything."
Patrick nodded, and Ava watched as he made his way towards the body. She had a feeling that there was more to this young werewolf than met the eye, and she made a mental note of what she had seen and tucked the note in her back pocket.
"I need to go back to the forest. Why is it calling in to me?" Ava rumpled her shirt as she felt a slight pain in her chest.
"Are you alright?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah, I am." She nodded her head and left the scene.
Another visit to the forest, but this time she went in deeper without obstruction. Ava's heart was pounding in her chest as she pushed herself to move faster. She could feel the eyes of a creature upon her, and she knew that it was gaining ground.
As she ran, Ava felt the power of the forest coursing through her veins. She drew upon the energy of the trees and the animals, calling upon their strength to fuel her own.
Just as she felt the creature's hot breath on her heels, Ava broke through the trees and burst into a small clearing. There, in the center of the clearing, was a large stone altar, its surface carved with intricate symbols and glyphs.
Ava knew that this was a sacred site, a place of power that had been used for centuries by witches and other magical practitioners. Without hesitation, she sprinted towards the altar and leaped onto its surface, turning to face her pursuer.
The creature emerged from the trees and snarled, baring its fangs at Ava. It was larger than she had realized, with shaggy fur the color of midnight and glowing red eyes that burned with a fierce intelligence.
For a moment, Ava and the creature stood facing each other, neither of them moving. Ava could feel the power of the altar thrumming beneath her feet, and she drew upon it to summon a burst of energy.
With a fierce cry, Ava raised her hands and unleashed a powerful blast of magical energy at the creature. The blast hit the creature squarely in the chest, knocking it backwards and sending it tumbling to the ground.
Ava stood panting and trembling, watching as the creature slowly rose to its feet. It was injured, but still dangerous, and Ava knew that she had to finish it off before it could recover.
With a fierce determination, Ava drew upon the power of the forest once again, calling forth a stream of flames that shot from her hands and engulfed the creature in a roaring inferno.
For a few moments, the creature thrashed and howled, its fur burning and its body writhing in agony. And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone, consumed by the flames and reduced to ashes.
Ava stood panting and trembling, staring at the smoking remains of the creature. She had faced many dangers in her life, but never anything like this. She knew that she had been lucky to survive.
As she caught her breath, Ava became aware of a strange feeling in the air. It was as if the forest itself was alive, pulsing with a strange energy that she couldn't quite identify.
Suddenly, she heard a soft rustling in the bushes behind her. She whirled around, her hands raised defensively, but there was nothing there.
"Ava," a voice whispered in her ear, and she spun around again, her heart pounding in her chest.
There was no one there, but the feeling of a presence lingered in the air, and Ava knew that she was not alone in the forest. Something was watching her, and she had the distinct feeling that it was not friendly.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as Ava turned and began to make her way back through the trees. She had survived the creature, but she knew that there were other dangers lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike.
"Who is behind all this?" She asked herself.
- Writer
