’Please end my life.’
No, actually, I couldn’t die just yet.
I needed to kill that fucker before I could die!
“A trauma counselor? The Guild finally decided to get one?”
“This is surprising, but…”
“Doesn’t he look more depressed and traumatized than most of the people here?”
“Now that you mention it.”
Hold on.
I mean, they weren’t wrong, but… hearing their words, I was a little hurt, I won’t lie.
I was certainly traumatized, not depressed. I was almost there, though.
“Like I said, we hear all of your plights. Though I do agree with most of you here, he’s certainly more than qualified to handle your cases. If anybody wants to have a go, you can do so tomorrow or the day after. Just book an appointment with Counselor Thorne.”
The Section Chief swiftly turned his attention away from me shortly after that.
Taking out a small controller, he pointed it towards the top of the room where a small project was slowly pulled down.
“Can someone turn off the lights for me?”
Heeding his words, one of the recruits turned off the lights, and the Section Chief turned on the project as it illuminated a certain blank area of the room.
“Now that I’ve said my piece, it is time we talk about the more serious stuff.”
An image formed on the wall.
It was a bedroom where an old woman appeared.
She appeared to be lying down on her bed.
“This is one of the videos that we’ve managed to gather regarding the most recent incidents with the twisted man. I advise caution. For those who ate or drank too much, be warned.”
He proceeded to press the controller, and the video began.
The room fell silent as the video started with the woman sleeping.
A timestamp appeared in the top right corner of the video.
[03:15 A.M]
It moved fast as the video was sped up.
Eventually, the timestamp stopped at exactly [03:36 A.M]
In that moment, the old woman’s eyes flared open as she raised her head and looked around.
Her actions were unexpected and confusing.
But then…
—Hello? Is anybody there? Who is knocking?
She suddenly started to speak.
—It’s very early in the morning. If you don’t stop knocking, I will be forced to call the police.
The old lady moved towards the window and looked out before turning back and looking towards the main door.
She roamed around the house like that until she moved back to the bedroom.
—I’m warning you… I will really call the cops!
A strange tension filled the surroundings as the woman spoke.
It was the way that she was speaking to herself that evoked a certain sense of tension.
Her eyes frantically looked around, and her voice rose with each passing second.
—I’m warning you!
She clutched her phone tightly.
The old woman looked even more frantic.
—I’m telling you! I’m warning you! Don’t come closer!!!
Her voice rose to the point of screaming, the veins on her neck popping.
—Ah! Haaaa!
As if spotting something, her face grew entirely pale as she rushed towards one of the doors, opening it. It was just right outside of the camera angle, too.
And right as she disappeared from view…
—Ahhhhhh!
A blood-curdling scream filled the surroundings.
“…..”
The video ended there.
Shortly after, the image of the woman appeared again. This time, her body was completely dried up, as she looked like a mummy.
The creepiest part of it all…
It was her slowly moving eyes and mouth.
…She was still alive.
“This right here is one of the many incidents that have been plaguing the island. We call this certain anomaly, the Twisted Man, and we deem it to be at around Melas-Class, with the potential to be Thrall. Though the woman looks alive, she’s in a vegetative state. In short, she’s brain-dead.”
It was rare to see the Section Chief so serious.
“The anomaly is one that we’ve recently discovered, but looking through the Bureau’s database, we’ve found similar incidents occur in other smaller islands. The cycle switches every couple of years, with the anomaly moving from island to island while leaving behind dozens of similar corpses.”
Pausing, the Section Chief took a sip of water before continuing.
“Several Guilds have tried investigating the case, but with no luck. This is what we’ve managed to find so far.”
Pressing onto the controller in his hand, the image of the room the old woman was in before appeared again.
“The anomaly cannot be seen through cameras. Take a look.”
A laser suddenly shot out from the controller, pointing directly at the floor.
The faces of many changed, including mine, as we suddenly spotted a shadow.
“As you can see, this is a shadow. The anomaly is standing right before the camera, looking right at it, and yet we can’t see it.”
Pressing onto the controller, the image displayed was now that of a small two-story house.
“The anomaly’s target criteria are a two-story house and a single occupant. As long as those two conditions are met, it will stop at nothing to hunt them.”
With a sudden click of his tongue, the Section Chief lowered his hand.
“The citizens of the island are already somewhat aware of the anomaly, and we’ve been getting a lot of complaints regarding the situation, but what can we do? This anomaly is as slippery as they can be.”
Scratching the top of his head, the Section Chief looked like he was nursing a headache.
Good.
I hoped it was a serious one.
He deserved whatever pain he was experiencing.
Pressing the remote control again, the projector displayed several dozen profiles, each showing a different person dressed in some form of red garb.
A prison garb?
“Since we’re already mostly aware of the criteria involving the Twisted Man, we will be performing several tasks in order to catch it. Pay close attention since this is closely tied to your expedition tomorrow.”
The room tensed upon hearing the Section Chief’s words.
“These are the latest inmates the Bureau sent us to investigate the matter. They’ve all committed unspeakable acts, so don’t waste your pity on them. In any case, they’ll be placed in several of the houses we’ve constructed across the island. Your job is simple: monitor the situation, and if anything happens, report it to the Guild immediately.”
The Section Chief’s voice was somber as he spoke.
“If you notice something, do not engage. Just report the situation to us. We still don’t know the full details of the anomaly. It is best that the Team Leaders handle the real stuff.”
I was in full favor of this choice.
Yes, let them handle the dirty work.
“All of you will be sent a short report on the situation. I want you all to look over it tonight before going on the expedition tomorrow. It is important that you look over it since it might just save your life.”
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Just as the Section Chief’s voice faded, the unanimous sound of phones ringing echoed throughout the room.
Taking out my phone, I looked at the file on my phone.
[Twisted-Man.docx]
I almost pressed on the file before pausing.
No, wait…
Why did I receive this, too?
What—
“Your team is listed right below the document, so if you’ve received one, it means that you’ve been assigned to a team. If you can get to know your team, so that tomorrow you will avoid unnecessary troubles.”
Pulling the remote controller away, the Section Chief suddenly smiled.
“And with that, I’m done. I wish all of you the best of luck!”
I looked at him before looking back at my phone.
And then…
Staring at the team assigned to me, I dropped my phone.
’Might as well just kill me already. What is the point in keeping me alive?’
I covered my mouth while trying my best to keep my tears in check.
But looking at my phone again and seeing the Team Leader’s name, I felt tears pull down in my eyes.
[Group Leader : Zoey Terlin]
At this point, I knew this was no coincidence.
It was on purpose.
