Chapter 1: City Monster
Two Years Since New Year's Eve Explosion
The police lights flashed their red and blue around the dark streets of Zenith city's highrise buildings in this very ominous night. The whole building being investigated had been evacuated, with its occupants scattered around the area sealed with yellow tapes that read police.
Only one lane of the road was working; the other near the building had to be blocked from its junctions to occupy for the building's occupants and work space for police and detectives. Sirens were heard muffled around but silenced in the work area to allow for easy communication among the workers.
"This is the fifth such case this week, and it's just Tuesday!" A female detective said to her male counterpart who was over a female body examining it as she wore her gloves. She was smartly dressed in a black blazer and a matching trouser.
"I feel you, this is insane. Crazy pattern, they all had three nick dots on their neck, including this one. Medics say she barely has blood in her." The male detective said. He too was coperately dressed, wearing a blue T-shirt tucked into a black trouser and wearing suede shoes. "It's almost like a vampire with oddly arranged three fangs got these people," the man said, as he turned the injured side of the neck to face his colleague who had gotten to her knees."
"Hmm," the woman muttered. "And they were all women. Young women, rich and influential in some way apparently!"
"Yeah, apparently." The man stood up and used his arm to wipe his face. "Let's file this up. We need to send the reports in so they can raise security levels specially among those we think are being targeted. The wrong rumors will soon start spreading with all these cameramen." The man gestured to the numerous cameramen and journalists outside the yellow police line reporting for their various agencies.
"Yea, we better. A statement needs to come out of our department soon, but I don't like this. Do you know there's an event tomorrow morning?"
"What about it?" The man asked.
"It consists of young women...WAGs, politicians, sportswomen and the likes all gathered for some empowerment programme of sorts. They're lodging in the Palms hotel, and they're all young, our killer's profile."
"We've got to send a warning then, there's a chance he...or whoever could strike again this night there."
"Yep! Nicolo take over. We've got stuffs to do."
"Yes Neko miss," a junior staff said to her.
Neko and her colleague, Pius, left the crime scene and entered a red Ford Mustang and drove off.
They left the scene past nine pm, leaving behind confused workers and occupants of the apartment building wondering how the young woman, a popular singer, had wound up dead.
***
Palms hotel, one of the popular five star hotels in Zenith city. Night time was always a party fest with colours lighting up the glass front exteriors of the eighty floors high building and a fountain half as high as the building, also lit up in colours. From the twentieth floor and above, the view of the city around was truly magnificent, and only got better till the roof.
The roof of the building was the partying ground, some nights filled with billionaires who came to blow some cash with girls or playboys sons of rich men, also partying with their girls. On occasion it had its low-key parties, but only low-key in energy exuberance. No expences were ever spared.
Move into the hotel and you wouldn't know so much chaos was happening above. The sound absorbers built into the building was simply class. There were gold decorations designed with the white painting of the reception hall, and stairs at the back of the hall with elevators in-between.
Twenty rooms in the fifty second floor were booked to host a seminar the next morning by nine am. All twenty guests were young women not older than thirty-six.
Infront of their rooms and around were guards, hefty men and slick women in suits, armed with firearms and earpieces connected to pass info. No common criminal could possibly pass through such security.
No common criminal, that is.
#...yes ma'am, the files are ready for your approval and will be on your desk when you get back in two days.#
"Good. How is my baby son? Hope he's been fed well Chloe!"
#Oh yes ma'am, you really don't have to worry.#
"Oh but I have to, afterall these people underestimate me."
#What? Who madam Collefleur?#
Slurp!
"Hmm! This one's quite rich. Would have wanted to keep you alive for your dear son, but I just can't resist can I?"
#Madan?#
Beep!
"That's enough of you luv!"
The feminine voice had suddenly changed into a masculine one in the bathroom. The voice had been coming from a bathtub covered around by bathroom sheets, with the silhouette of a person reflecting off the sheets in the yellow-lit bathroom.
Inside the bathtub was a rather strange sight. A man, dressed in heavy gown with designs resembling a Japanese kimono, sitting in the bathtub and a woman in her late twenties, her head resting on the man's laps. She was unconscious, but her eyes were teary.
The oddly dressed man had the woman's right wrist in his mouth, with blood pouring from it and his mouth. The white tub was also coloured by this red.
The man was sucking and slurping away at her hand... drinking her blood.
"Hmm. Your blood's almost finished. But I can't leave you alive now can I, you'll just blow my precious cover with your resources. Pity, I can't erase minds haha."
Crunch!
The man dug his fangs deeper into the woman's wrist, and sucked hard, sucked the life out of the woman, until he felt her wither away.
"Haa. That was quite the thrill! Wish I could do all the women here, but I've master's wish to carry out tonight. Sleep well my precious, sleep well," the man said in a timid masculine voice.
"I'll retire you for the night," the man said to the dead woman. He carefully removed her head from his lap and placed her in the tub, then came out of it and went to the door.
Knock! Knock!!
"Cletus! I'm gonna sleep now," the man said to the guard on the other side of the door again in the feminine voice, the one that belonged to the dead woman.
"Ok ma'am. If you need anything just knock."
"Yes my dear Cletus, good night!"
"Good night to you too ma'am!"
The man smiled.
In a whiff, the man turned into a long floating strip of fabric of the same material as the gown he was wearing, and slid through the air vent above in the room. He glided through this vent, making his way through mapped out paths he had already known until he reached the top of the building away from the party, where some air vents led to the exterior. He reverted back to his normal shape and looked up at the half-moon.
"Not long now, my precious Yvonne. Master will like your powers for his cause."
After that, he turned back to his magical state and glided into thin air, into the dark night and away.