Chapter 2: SAME ODOR
Adrian's eyes darkened as he silently observed the room.
"I should have known better."
Alan and Selena had no idea Adrian had been keeping a secret from them. Adrian himself had no idea who he was to begin with. Only he knew how he was coping with being born to be something extraordinary and now living among humans.
"It is not surprising that Alan could not handle this case, but I said what I said, and I am not going back now. How should I proceed with this case now? Knowing what happened here is insufficient."
Adrian began to ponder, as he was unsure how to handle this situation.
Should he wait for another case to present itself?
Should he start keeping a watchful eye on the entire city, which was implausible.
"Did you find anything, Adrian?"
Selena could not wait any longer because she was afraid that another child was being kidnapped right now. Adrian burst through the door just as she was about to open it.
"Could you tell me how far apart the three houses are?"
"Not too far, but still a few meters. The first is about 900 meters away, and the second is about 800 meters away. The same is true for those houses. But why are you asking?"
Alan was intrigued and inquired. As a veteran in this field, he has already verified this much information. He was curious about Adrian's reasoning behind his questions.
"I want you to look for any abandoned buildings or warehouses in this area. Not far, but close to the three incident locations. It is not the work of a single person, nor is it for the purpose of human trafficking. Just know that I am your best bet for solving this case, and no, I am not interested in answering any questions. Continue now. It is getting dark, so I am heading home."
"Bring him home, Selena."
"No, I will be fine on my own, and you guys take care of yourselves. Please contact me if you discover anything that cannot be explained normally."
Alan intervened just as Selena was about to call him out.
"Leave him alone. Find Finn and the other officers. Pass on my instructions to find any suspicious places or places where a lot of people are going in and out all of a sudden. Ask the rentals if they have recently rented out a warehouse. I need all of this information as soon as possible. Yes, you are staying awake."
Alan left without waiting for her response and went to the parents to reassure them. He was not sure how things would turn out, but he trusted Adrian because of how he had previously assisted him in solving cases like these.
Alan first met Adrian when he was 19 years old. He was involved in a murder investigation.
He was quieter and more to himself at the time, but he was nicer. He missed the days when he did not open his mouth, but he could not help but sigh at how good a detective he was.
Both Selena and Alan rolled out of the house and began working.
***
It was now around 8 p.m., and a shadow could be seen moving around the rooftops of houses. It felt like a physical entity at times, but it was mostly just a fog.
Whatever it was, it was a truly inexplicable thing or creature. Because it was winter, there were not many people outside at this hour, and everyone was concerned because of the serial kidnappings. They chose to stay at home to be extra cautious.
The shadow moved in strange ways. He was on this side of the roof one minute and on the other the next. If anyone saw it right now, they would be terrified because anything that could not be explained by normalcy was terrifying. That is how humans were.
"They are truly stupid. Do they think they can find anything when it has been assigned to me? It is a lot of fun kidnapping these kids. I am getting excited just thinking about how I am next in line to get the upgrade. Who will be the next target? I am still perplexed as to why they only requested females. Not that I have any objections."
The raspy voice came from the shadowy figure, like a rusted blade against weathered stone.
It had a raw, malevolent quality to it, as if it scraped across the air, leaving a trail of discomfort behind it.
Each word was accompanied by a harsh undertone, a mix of hoarse whispers and low growls that echoed from the depths of a desolate abyss.
"Hm? Why don't there seem to be any lights in this house? Not at home? I am about to run out of money, so I might as well get some cash."
He noticed something strange as it landed on the roof of this house, but he did not pay much attention to it. He was too proud and enamored with his abilities to consider the worst-case scenario.
"It is time to look into it. Let us find out who lives in this godforsaken house. Might as well get them out of this misery known as life."
The shadowy figure moved with an eerie grace, traversing the wall of the house like a phantom in the night.
Its barely discernible silhouette seemed to blend seamlessly with the darkness, becoming an extension of the shadows themselves. As if born from the abyss, it flowed effortlessly, a shape-shifter in the inky blackness.
The form of the figure twisted and contorted, undulating with a ghostly fluidity. It appeared to defy physics laws, as if gravity had no control over its enigmatic existence.
Shadows danced and flickered around it, creating the illusion of a spectral waltz, an otherworldly ballet on the night's canvas.
It would occasionally stretch out its long, sinuous limbs, elongated and distorted, like tendrils reaching for unseen prey.
The darkness seemed to embrace it, morphing and molding to its every movement, as if it were at the figure's command. It left a trail of obscurity, a fleeting mark on the wall's surface, a testament to its ethereal passage.
"Ugh, I despise this the most. Why does it have to be so difficult to pass through walls? I should ask for more pills the next time I see them. Or maybe they will start paying more attention to me after the upgrade. I can feel better days ahead."
He was inside the house; there was no break in, no marks, nothing to see or feel, just like air.
"It is truly a miracle that I am paying attention to these powers now. It has been 7 months, and it never ceases to amaze me how this is possible, but I do not want to get on their bad side. These pills keep me alive, and they are only made by them. Forget it; I should just check out and move on to my next destination."
He was having this monologue when he noticed a figure sitting on the long chair in the living room.
"There is no doubt about it; it is incredible. I knew there were human labs experimenting with shadow manifestors and other beings, but meeting one here is quite unexpected."
He came to a halt when he heard someone out of nowhere. Not because he was afraid, but simply because of instincts. His instincts were telling him to just get lost from here right away, but as proud he was, he did not listen to his instincts.
He turned around and looked at the source of the voice, noticed a figure wearing a regular t-shirt and trousers and holding a cane on his knees.
He couldn't see his face to judge the age of the person, but from his voice, it felt like someone younger than him.
"Kid, I would advise you to keep quiet and stay out of my way, or you will not know how you died."
While speaking, he approached Adrian in order to assert his dominance. He became much calmer after realizing that he was in charge, not the other way around.
"I am fascinated by how they did it. You mentioned pills. Can I look at them?"
After leaving the investigation site, Adrian went straight home. He did not request a ride home because he wanted to see how inadequate he was in comparison to what he was supposed to be.
He had things to hide from police officers, but as for a guy who can move around shadows, he was not too concerned.
It still piqued his interest as to how he was doing it because he could not do it himself. He was not a human, to be sure, but he was not much different from one either because of his stupid fate. He detested it.
"It appears you are unconcerned about what you just witnessed. You have seen this type of thing before, but let me tell you something: whatever you saw before could never be as real as what I can do."
He abruptly vanished as he said this.
"It is your good fortune that I am in a good mood right now. You would be dead by now if you weren't."
Adrian heard a voice coming from every direction in the living room. A normal person would have peed their pants by this point, but was he normal?
According to him, yes, but according to humans, no.
"That is a clever trick. I think I could pull it off, but I am not in the mood." As Adrian stated, he looked to a specific corner of the room and smiled slightly.
He was now truly surprised. He was well aware that he was not the ideal product. He was well aware of his status as the bottom feeder for them. But one thing he was certain of was that he was capable.
But here in this run-down house that he had stumbled upon, a human was taunting him and staring right at him. It was infuriating him.
He could not stand for such disgrace. He did not mind not being afraid of him, but he could not bear the thought of him looking down on him as his peers did.
"Do not blame me for what is about to happen. I was going to loot this house just for fun, but now you have done it." He appeared right in front of Adrian as he said it.
The shadowy figure's body was a nebulous enigma, a formless void that seemed to exist on the outskirts of perception.
It defied physical reality by appearing as a shifting silhouette, ever-changing and elusive. Its contours seemed to ripple and blur, as if it were made of smoke and whispers.
The silhouette was shrouded in darkness, an inky shroud that obscured any distinguishing features. It lacked a distinguishable face, hands, or other distinguishing features, presenting itself as a featureless, amorphous mass of shadow.
It moved with an unsettling fluidity, its edges merging and dissolving into the obscurity around it.
Phantom limbs would occasionally extend from their form, sinuous tendrils reaching out into the air like ghostly appendages.
These tendrils seemed to have their own minds, curling and retracting as if testing the limits of their intangible corporeality. They suggested the presence of structure within the formless void, but the figure remained an enigma.
"You must be in a lot of pain."
As soon as he heard the words from Adrian's mouth, his shadow rippled and vanished. He was a balding man in his forties with scars on his head.
The lack of hair emphasized the contours of his skull, lending his face a stoic intensity.
The weathered and tanned skin told the story of a man who had faced the elements head-on, a man shaped by years of trials and tribulations. Wrinkles added character to his face, etched from countless expressions and years of wisdom.
"You could have been a good man, but I do not really care."
Adrian rose to his feet, holding his cane.
And there he saw his face, a handsome young man with arched brows. But the only thing he noticed in the moonlight were his abyss-like eyes.
"You have the same odor."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
samandridaku
samandridaku Oh, the shadows! Such misunderstood, innocent little blobs of darkness. I mean, who wouldn't want to befriend a sentient patch of darkness that lurks ominously in corners and under beds? They're just dying for a hug, clearly.
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Ranking 
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