Chapter 61: Chapter 61

Footsteps reached his ears telling him the location of his assailant. He lifted his head to meet the face of the same girl that had been toying with him. She was barely winded and looked bored considering the outcome of what had just occurred. He’d not known what he was getting himself into when he started this self-assigned mission. ‘I now understand why you couldn’t tell everyone the monstrosity of the Rogue killer. No one would believe you even if you tried explaining it. She’s not normal even for a hunter. It makes sense now why Kyle is the most important asset to the Rogue king. He’s the only one with information on this monster and yet I only delayed them.’

At that moment, Demitri planned to get a message to the others on how they were to escape this. He needed to howl loudly... something that was meant to travel miles so that the rest would receive the message to start running. In his state, gathering the energy and the strain to howl was almost impossible to do so. Right when he was about to open his mouth, a hand clasped around it, sealing it shut. “Not one sound from you... now I know they aren’t too far yet. I just don’t know where they are or how far and it would take forever... not to mention I wouldn’t find them if they are well hidden. All that’s left is to interrogate you. I hope you enjoy your time in the dungeon... the trick to surviving that place is to cooperate. Though I doubt you understand the words I’m saying.”

Katie searched her pockets for her phone and dialled the Director’s number. After waiting for a few seconds, he picked up, “What is it, Chase. You vanished for an entire day,” he spoke roughly from the other side, his voice low since it was night.

“It’s good to hear your voice as well,” she answered him.

“Cut to the chase, Chase,” he said. She could feel the smirk on the man’s face through the phone as he said it.

“I’ve captured a rogue. My best guess is that he was going to retrieve something that Kyle left behind,” she said.

“Kyle, you mean your nerdy best friend with the good grades?” he asked.

.....

“Yes, I mean him...”

“What has he got to do with anything?”

“He turned out to be the one that Chandler was telling me about. He was the one who killed Ash. When I found out, it was too late. He’d fled from town and was far away,” she said.

“That gets rid of my sleep. Can you bring the wolf to the Agency or do you have somewhere to be?” Anthony asked the girl.

“I want to go and check out the house for anything that he might have forgotten there,” she told him.

“Okay then, just tell me your location and I’ll get the nearest patrols right with you,” he said. She relayed her location and only had to wait for the hunters to get there. “You know, you are quite lucky. Kyle is sort of a celebrity right now. One that had invoked the anger of many. For that reason, you might just be able to leave... that’s only if you do the right thing and cooperate. Once again I find myself telling you this and yet I know that there is no chance you would do it,” she said, “Are you listening to me?”

Taking her hand off the muzzle of the wolf, she snatched her hand before he got the chance to bite her, “You know, you make me feel like taking you to the Hunter’s Agency and restraining you myself. With how feisty you are right now, you might even think that by some miracle you will be able to escape the party that’s coming for you,” she said.

It wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps reached their ears. Katie turned to the group that had arrived and stood upright after squeezing the wolf’s mouth shut so much that she damaged its gums. This was an effort to make howling all the more painful without damaging the vocal cords of the werewolf. A werewolf that couldn’t speak was useless to them and so she made it hard for it to speak momentarily instead.

“Ah, the Rogue killer is back to her old tricks,” one of the hunters said, a tall man who’d worked with the agency for as long as Katie could remember.

“Just doing my job, Kenneth,” she replied.

“Do you ever get sleep or even tired?”

“Are you complaining?” she asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m worrying. It’s like you patrol through the night as well as during the day. You should get some rest. Nonetheless, you have managed to keep peace in our town even though there are numerous rogues that are supposed to be attacking it. You’ve put down more than I could count and as a result, the people of Brigadia have even forgotten what it feels like to be in fear of rogues... well, that was until what happened at the school. I thank you for your service, on behalf of the Hunter’s Agency of Brigadia,” he said, bowing his head at the end, as long as the others.

“You’re welcome, Kenneth. You might want to muzzle this wolf. I damaged most of the bones in his body required from movement, from the legs up to the spine, so you won’t have to worry about him escaping,” she said. It was only then that Demitri noticed the numb pain in his legs wasn’t because there was no blood reaching them, but because she’d shattered his bones there as well. He scanned through his memory for a point when she’d gotten time to attack his legs as well, but there was no time that he could think of.

The only time that he would not have been able to feel that kind of attack was when he was hit in the side. During that time, she rammed into him and he’d crashed into the tree, during all that time, he wouldn’t have noticed if his leg bones shattered along with the others that were being damaged in that instant, but the memory of her breaking his legs did not come through. He looked back at the Rogue killer... ‘So you have both Prometheus gifts... You’re worse than I thought you were... Just how impossible of a monster are you?’ the question echoed through the wolf’s mind as they hauled it away from there. Kenneth was stronger than he looked, holding it over his shoulders once they were done muzzling it.

Katie began her run to the house that she didn’t think she’d be visiting this whole time. Her phone rang while she was running and she checked to see a picture of the Director flexing his muscles in his famous black leather outfit. The man looked younger than his age and did his best to keep himself looking young. She answered the phone and put it to her ear, “Hello.”

“Hey, Katie, I was just... you’re running?”

“Yes, I am...” she answered the man. He was silent for a bit before snapping back to his question.

“I was asking for a report on everything that you’ve uncovered in your investigation on the killer of the werewolf in the school,” he said.

“I did not want to make a report of a culprit that I haven’t caught yet, but if it’s that necessary, I’ll write it and email you the report before I go to sleep,” she said.

“That won’t be necessary. We shall have your report in person tomorrow, is that understood?” he ordered.

“Yes, understood... What time tomorrow?”

“Preferably in the morning before the Founding Festival,” he said to her. She noticed the use of ‘preferably’ was his humble way of saying it was an order.

“Okay then, I’ll give you the full report then of everything I’ve discovered concerning my investigation and hopefully it’s the last that I have to... Getting tired of repeating myself,” she mumbled the last part.

“I know you’re not in the most ideal of situations. Just bear with us, we are doing our best to handle this situation with the least amount of anger. You know how Lycaon is out for blood. I don’t think we want a Royal losing control at this time... Speaking of which, are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked.

Katie sighed on remembering the chains and restricting steel restraints that had been set up in the basement of the cabin, “Yes, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“If you need anything, I’m just a call away,” he offered.

“Thank you, Director Anthony. I’ll remember that.” With that, they bid their farewells. The lights of the town were starting to go through the thick foliage of the trees signalling her near arrival to the town... well, the part of it that held Kyle’s home. She knew this part of town like the back of her hand... She had a number of things she now wondered. Kyle was living alone with the same excuse of his parents never being around, carefully claiming that they were back when he knew she couldn’t visit. It was almost too obvious and yet she had not been able to notice.

Katie continued running, using alleyways and backyards to go through the town unnoticed until she reached the house she’d been targeting, a wave of nostalgia washing over her...