An Agent Named Nicolas Flint

Case One Part 1

"Well, yeah. But what does-"

Nicolas snapped off the handle causing me to stop in mid question. He raised it so I could see the broken piece, my mind not understanding what I was looking at. Instead of a metal the handle should be, it was a light brown. Walking over he placed the broke handle in my hand. Without warning, he then kicked the railing hard enough to send parts of it flying. It did not splinter like wood, but rather cracked and crumbled. I jumped at the destruction but I still didn't believe what I was seeing. Digging a fingernail into the handle I took a small piece off and tasted it confirming my suspicions.

"It's... Chocolate?" I asked dumbfounded.

"The railing was painted gingerbread it seems. I assume the rest of the porch is either the same or painted chocolate." Nicolas confirmed.

That couldn't be it. This was far too strange. Who the hell would build a realistic cabin out of gingerbread and chocolate? The windows looked like glass but could be made of sugar. Hell, who could afford such a joke? I was shaking my head trying to figure out what we just walked into.

"Stay behind me. I'm going to kick down the door." Nicolas didn't appear fazed by the odd turn of events in the slightest.

"Wait, what? Aren't you wondering who the hell made this?" I asked watching him walk back up the steps.

"My working theory is a witch with a bad sense of humor." He said, his usual monotone voice making it impossible to tell if he was joking.

I was unable to respond as he raised a shoe now dirty from his walk in the woods and kicked the door to pieces. He went inside the dark cabin and I dropped the fake handle to go after him. I took my flashlight out to look inside and I wished I hadn't.

It was empty aside from four piles of what looked to be slime on the far side of the room. Nicolas swiftly made his way over to the smaller pile. This was some X-Files crap and he was acting as if everything was perfectly normal. I followed behind, my flashlight beam cutting through the gloom of the cabin. It landed on one pile of the stiff transparent goop. It took me a few seconds to clue into what I was seeing. My body jerked back in reflex and I fell to the floor hard enough for one hand to break through the chocolate board. Inside the pile of goo was a skeleton. One with enough muscle on the bones and eyes remaining to make me sick. I quickly scanned the other piles to see more bodies. One in each at different stages of decomposition. The last pile and the one Nicolas made a beeline for was what I feared I would see. Jenna curled up in the slime looking unharmed.

"She's...." I started, my throat closing up from tears.

I blinked them away knowing now was not the time to lose it. Nicolas tossed aside his suit jacket with no hesitation. He plunged his arms elbow deep in the mysterious substance and pulled the small girl out. It made an awful noise as her body was released but the slime did not stick to her. He placed an ear against her chest while taking a pulse. But was she really alive? Unless we arrive a minute after she was placed inside that slime how could she still be?

"She's fine. Still breathing but we need to get her some treatment. Skyler, please carry her so my hands are free to fight whatever did this. Unfortunately, we cannot take the others out."

My head was swimming from his words. With a shaking hand I brought my flashlight over to the almost skeleton trapped in slime. The remaining eyes flickered and moved in the skull. I screamed, darting back and dropping the flashlight. It was impossible, but the others inside the piles of slime were still alive. Almost down to bones but still aware of what was happening. I dry heaved over the thought. If Nicolas didn't snap me out of my state, I doubt we would have gotten out of that cabin without me losing a part of myself.