Chapter 1 A Hunter’s Resolve

The heavy rain splashed against the precinct window. Each drop was a percussive beat against the glass, mimicking the frantic rhythm of my own heart. Another missing person report was spread on my desk, a grim postcard from the abyss. The face staring back at me from the grainy photo belonged to a young woman, no older than myself. Her smile was wide, her eyes hopeful, and to think they would never see another sunrise made my stomach coil.

I traced my fingers over the outline of her smile, a ghost of a memory from a life now vanished. This was the fifth victim in how many weeks. They labelled them as drifters and attributed their disappearances to unfortunate accidents. But accidents produce bodies, or traces at least. Every lead we’ve had has always led to a dead end and I knew why. The official reports marked the town as haunted, something of that sort. But I saw the frayed edges, the dark threads that wove beneath...the monstrous pattern lurking just out of sight.

“Another one, Blankson?” Knox’s low rumbled voice pulled me from the precipice of my thoughts. He leaned lazily against my desk, a mug of what I suppose was coffee, steaming in his hand. The aroma cut through the metallic tang of fear that perpetually clung to the air in this precinct.

I didn’t meet his eye. “Same profile. Young and innocent. I mean, she had no discernible enemies, and no financial woes. No love interest either so it can’t be the case of an elopement. She’s just...gone.” The word tasted like ash in my mouth. My mother was gone too but not like in this case. I had found her splayed across the living room floor, a beast hovering above her, with eyes glowing with a feral, predatory light. I don’t know what was worse though. She dying or me finding out that that monstrous beast that killed her was my estranged father. I quickly shut the jagged piece of memory out.

“You still on about your monster theory?” A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. I knew he meant well, Knox. He saw the fire in my eyes, the hunger to solve these cases, the relentless pursuit that bordered on obsession. But he just didn’t understand its origin. I mean how could he? He just hadn’t seen a man transform, flesh rippling and bones reshaping into something primal and really terrifying, before tearing the life from the woman who loved him.

“Knox.” I drawled out slowly. “You saw the report. There was no sign of any reason that could have led to that. Disappearing into thin air? Come on, this is clearly not human.” My voice was now a low growl, a promise I made to myself everyday. That when I find them, I would make them pay dearly.

Knox ran his long manly fingers through his dishevelled hair, clearly frustrated with my theory. “Ashenbrook is a small town, Blankson. It is not uncommon for people to leave. People get into silent troubles and well, decide to fake their disappearances. Continue researching, maybe there is a loophole somewhere. It’s not always a horror movie.”

“Or maybe, you are just not looking hard enough for the monsters.” My cold gaze finally met his and he flinched, a subtle shift in his posture.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it is because they are not real?” He said quietly, still holding my gaze.

“And when Mrs Robinson was found with her body torn apart? Clear evidence of a beast? What was that then?”

“Just as it was. A beast! Could have been any wild animal.”

Just then the door jingled, and in walked Nina, a splash of vibrant colour in the muted beige of the office. Her laugh was bright and unrestrained, and it echoed through the room. She carried two cardboard trays, each of them laden with coffee and pastries.

“Good morning, detectives! Fuel for the pursuers of justice!” She set the trays on my desk, a warm bagel with cream cheese nestled beside a steaming latte. Her smile was contagiously wide, a balm to my perpetually frayed nerves. Nina, my best friend, was a beacon of normalcy in the life that felt anything but that.

“Nina,” Knox greeted, a genuine smile replacing his earlier weariness. “You’re a life saver.”

“Just doing my part to keep the peace, one muffin at a time." She winked at him, then turned her attention to me, her brow furrowing slightly at the grim set of my jaw. "Rough morning, baby?"

"Another one," I sighed and murmured, gesturing to the photo lying on my desk.

Her smile faltered. "Oh, Tara… I’m so sorry." Her hand, warm and soft, covered mine for a moment, a silent offering of comfort. She knew my history, the gaping wound left by my mother’s death and she knew why these cases haunted me more than most.

"I’ll be fine," I said, a lie I told myself daily. "Just another reason to keep digging." Then I smiled at her before picking and biting into a muffin.

Later that evening, the rain had tapered to a persistent drizzle, washing the city streets clean. Nina and I sat in her cozy apartment, takeout containers spread across her coffee table. The soft glow of fairy lights strung across her living room cast a warm, inviting ambiance. She was recounting a disastrous first date, her animated gestures punctuating her words.

"And then, he actually tried to pay with a coupon for a free appetizer! A coupon, Tara! On a first date!" She threw her head back, a peal of laughter bubbling up.

I chuckled genuinely. "That’s a red flag. Sounds like you dodged a huge bullet"

"More like a cannonball." She rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine, her eyes sparkling as she recounted her experience. "But seriously though, you need to get out more. All work and no play makes Tara a very serious detective."

"Someone has to be serious, Nina. Otherwise, these cases just… disappear." The lightness in the room dissipated, replaced by the familiar tension that always clung to me.

Nina’s expression softened. "I know, love. I just worry about you. You carry so much."

"I have to." My voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "I can’t watch what happened to Mom repeat itself over and again."

She reached across the table, squeezing my hand. "You’re doing an amazing work, Tara. But you’re allowed to breathe, too."

And oh how I wish I believed her when I laid in bed that night. I wish I could get the image out of my mind. But every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Zack Blankson bent over my mother’s screaming body, tearing her open while I watched from the doorway, too small to help… and too terrified to run.