章 4: SOME LEAD

"Okay, so you met a guy; what happened then?"

Henry's tone was devoid of empathy as he continued his dark and callous work, preparing to confine the young girl within one of the ominous containers that filled the dimly lit lab.

The girl awoke from her slumber and looked around, terrified. She had no idea how she got here. The last thing she remembered was being suddenly enveloped in shadows in her room.

Henry's cold indifference persisted as he led her toward one of the containers filled with an eerie, pulsating liquid.

The sickly glow of the liquid added to the grim atmosphere, casting disturbing shadows across the room. The malevolent intent behind the experiment was palpable, and the air grew heavy with despair.

The girl pleaded, her voice desperate and quivering. "Please, I don't understand. Let me go. I want my mommy. I'm scared. I promise I won't tell anyone about this."

A twisted smile crept across Henry's lips, a chilling reflection of the darkness within his soul. He tilted his head, feigning sympathy but with a cruel glint in his eyes.

"Oh, my dear, it's far too late for that. You see, you've stumbled into something beyond your comprehension."

The container beckoned its lid open, ready to imprison the girl. Henry's movements were precise, methodical and devoid of mercy. He began to guide her into the liquid, her resistance futile against the menacing force that drove him.

As the girl submerged in the eerie liquid, panic and terror danced across her eyes. The liquid seemed to embrace her like a sinister lover, engulfing her in a grotesque transformation that would fulfill Henry's malevolent designs.

The lab bore witness to this grotesque ritual—the clash between innocence and a malevolent thirst for power, embodied by the heartless man in the white lab coat.

Each drop of liquid seemed to echo the agonizing cries of the innocent, a haunting testament to the depths to which humanity could descend in the pursuit of dark knowledge.

Even the cruelest people might have felt something seeing all of this, but Henry and Mark were far from it now. Mark knew he could not live without this power, and he did not have any other options because his life was now tied to pills.

According to Mark's observations, Henry was beyond redemption.

"When I tried manifesting shadows in front of him, somehow he made the shadows disintegrate."

Mark continued, seeing Henry complete all procedures for the new girl. "He wasn't in contact with my body, and I did not feel any kind of power coming from him, so it took me by surprise. That's all."

"Interesting. It had to be some guy like you, or you would not be standing here alive. You took care of him, yeah?"

Henry inquired as he retrieved pills from the draw. "And here are your pills for the following week. I do not want you to die right now. You continue to be useful to me. Still, you should try to pick up a few tips from other guys."

Mark held the pills as if he were inebriated. "Y-yes yes i took care of him. You don't have to be concerned about him."

Mark carefully placed the pills in his inner pocket, knowing full well that he would die without them.

"All right, you are free to go. I will call you when I have some work for you. Others are already bringing the remaining children here." After saying this, Henry began working on something, and Mark did not want to stay any longer, so he chose to leave.

….

DAY: 08

Adrian got called by Alan the first thing in the morning. He sounded urgent, so Adrian just freshened up and went to the station right away.

"We just received a report of five more missing children, all females, with no indication of any resemblance other than the fact that they are all around the age of 11,"

Sergeant Alan announced during the morning briefing. The room was tense, filled with an air of urgency and frustration. The recent surge in missing children has left the police force bewildered and desperate for answers.

The officers exchanged worried glances, grappling with the disconcerting lack of leads. All they had were the similarities in age and gender, along with the mysterious black smudge mark found at each abduction site—a dishearteningly enigmatic clue.

'As I suspected,' Adrian murmured inwardly to himself. 'He was not working alone.'

He knew he needed to act swiftly and decisively.

'It will not be good for my small reputation if I can't handle even this much,'

He thought to himself, acknowledging the stakes. His reputation as a protector against the supernatural hung in the balance.

'Plus, it is my fault for letting him go for my own amusement.' Adrian chided himself, recognizing his own lapse in judgment.

He reminded himself, reaffirming his commitment to the cause. With his resolve steeling him against the encroaching darkness, Adrian set out to confront the shadows that lurked in the wake of this harrowing mystery. 'Adrian, hurry up, there is a lot of work to be done.'

After the meeting, Alan approached Adrian, hoping for some answers, saying, "Please tell me you found something because 8 is a big number now. I don't believe anyone will accept any more excuses."

"To be honest, I am still looking but-",

"I do not have any leads, Adrian. We looked for warehouses and other abandoned buildings but found nothing. I am not sure where to look next. You have previously helped me. Perform a miracle for me here."

Adrian sucked in a breath as he gave Alan a stare of helplessness, and after a little pause, he spoke up, "If my prediction is correct, there will be one more kidnapping, and it will take place at night. So, shall we wait until the evening then?"

….

Throughout the day, the police force scoured the city tirelessly, following any leads that might shed light on the whereabouts of the missing children.

They combed through neighborhoods, interviewed witnesses, and inspected possible hiding spots, but the elusive nature of the abductions seemed to defy their every effort.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the anxious impatience in the station grew palpable. The families of the missing children clung to the faintest hope, their hearts heavy with worry and desperation.

In the late evening, Sergeant Alan and some other officers reviewed the day's exhaustive efforts. The disheartening reality of the situation weighed heavily on them both.

The black smudge mark remained an enigma—a cruel signature left by the perpetrators.

"We've got nothing," Sergeant Alan admitted with a deep sigh, frustration etched on his face. "No witnesses, no solid leads. It's like they vanished into thin air."

Selena and the other officers present clenched their fists, a mix of frustration and determination boiling within them.

They couldn't allow the darkness to triumph; they had to find a way to protect the innocent. "We're missing something," Selena declared, her mind racing. "There has to be a connection we're overlooking, something that binds these abductions together."

The sergeant's eyes widened as he considered Selena's words. "What about the smudge? It's the only consistent element we have. Could it be a symbol, a message?"

Selena's face lit up with realization. "Yes, it could very well be a message. A message that the perpetrators are leaving behind."

"We found nothing unusual in the forensic reports. According to them, it is just a burnt sign, but there is no proof of that. So our last hope is that it is some kind of pattern, as they all differ slightly."

With newfound determination, Selena and Sergeant Alan delved back into their investigation.

They began to analyze the black smudge marks, seeking patterns or symbols that might reveal the intentions of the abductors. As the night wore on, they were determined to decipher the shadows' cryptic message and rescue the innocent children from the clutches of darkness.

If Adrian had been here, he would have face-palmed right now. At the very least, they were eager to assist and resolve such cases.

But, of course, Adrian was not present to witness all of this because he had an important task at hand.

...

Standing on the roof of his room with a cane in hand, Adrian was looking at the moon. It wasn't the time to moon gaze, but somehow he was in the mood.

'So let's see if you are going to disappoint me today as well.'

Suddenly, Adrian unscrewed the top of his cane's handle, pulling out a long needle from its casing. Nobody knew that it wasn't just a cane.

Usually he never faced a situation where he had to pull it out but the situation called for it. He was way too intrigued by the fiasco and these pseudo shadow manifestors.

Just as he pulled out the needle, letting it touch the cool air of the cold night, it felt as if an invisible dome just moved past him towards the whole city.

'Let's see if I still have it in me. The last experience wasn't pleasant. Mother Moon, don't be a bitch tonight as well.'

Suddenly the needle started vibrating, and his hand holding the cane started bleeding.

The blood started to seep into the needle, and the dark abyss in Adrian's eyes started getting a gray hue. The more blood that seeped into the needle, the grayer his eyes became.

'It's a bit too much than the last time. Hopefully, I'll be able to move around until it's satisfied.'

His fears were unfounded, as his blood flow stopped and his hand healed. The seamless black needle was now gray as well. Though not as bright as his eyes, it was still there.

'Alright, now where are you guys?'

Adrian closed his eyes, and his senses began to move. Crying children, barking dogs, and a beggar shivering at the corner of the street were all presented to his mind as if he were seeing all this in real time, in the span of milliseconds.

'Come on, go a lit further.'

Soon, images of distant houses, trees, highways, and cars in parking lots began to appear. Everything was projected onto him.

He saw an image of a broken garage filled with various containers just as he felt his mind becoming overburdened and on the verge of exhaustion. He saw a lot of broken, shaken small cores there. He was certain it was not the cores but the pills.

"And here I thought I was going to die of exhaustion. It is a good thing you have not left yet. I was not done with that guy anyway." As Adrian spoke, his figure blurred and then vanished.

…..

"How come you think Henry just asked for eight of these flowers? Wasn't the plan to get 9? What made him change his mind?"

While grooming her nails, Alice inquired.

"Why should we care? It is not our problem, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to manifest shadows. I need the upgrade that Oliver received. I heard his pill intake has increased, but he can do a lot more now."

Another pseudo-shadow manifestor named Steve participated in the conversation.

"I am so envious!" Alice started chewing on her nails like a psychopath, running away.

The third person present chose not to pay attention to these two. As he was about to close his eyes to take a nap, he heard a light thud at the garage door.