Atlantis I: Upheaval

Erwin's Chapter Act 1 Part 2 - Lust

It was Sunday, and a whole week had passed since the interrogation.

Jaden and I were already outside Darren's apartment, watching to see if there was anything suspicious. He lived just on the third floor, having only come out once to go to a convenience store and had done nothing remotely questionable.

The afternoon sunlight seeped into the car. The sky was perfectly clear as the sun burned the surface of everything it touched. The streets were filled with people and the roads were busy with vehicles. There were cheerful children walking hand in hand with their parents, and shy couples nervously gripping each other's hands.

This was the city that I wanted to protect.

"Nice day isn't it?" I asked Jaden, who sat next to me in the passenger's seat.

"Sure is". Jaden replied, watching the apartment complex intently. "Say, do you really think this guy, Darren, is really worth investigating?" He asked after a short pause.

"I can't say for sure that he is guilty of anything yet, but I have a strong feeling that he is up to something," I replied. My response caused Jaden to frown.

"The actual criminal could be on the loose somewhere else claiming his next victim, and we are here quite possibly wasting our time!"

A few more hours had passed. The sun had long sunk into the distant horizon as the street lights illuminated themselves. The streets were now nearly empty and hardly any vehicles drove on the empty roads. There also hadn't been any sign of Darren since early noon, and Jaden had grown even more frustrated. Even I began to have my doubts over actually suspecting him. From what we had seen, he was nothing but a plain, ordinary man living out his days in the city. But each time I thought back about the interrogation, and each time I recalled his malicious smile, I was convinced that he was guilty.

As I took a deep sigh, Jaden suddenly tugged at my arm. "Erwin look at that!" He said, pointing at a black car that had pulled up just outside Darren's apartment. Jaden and I watched intently as a group of three men dressed in black suits emerged from the car. I didn't recognize any of them from anywhere and knew for sure that they weren't anyone related to the government.

We watched them walk up to Darren's front door and knocked on it. The door opened shortly after, and the three men entered before closing the door behind them.

"Do you recognize any of those men?" Jaden questioned, staring hard at the black car a few feet in front of ours.

"No, but this is definitely suspicious. Those guys are obviously up to something!" I answered.

"Should we go break-in?" Jaden asked, adjusting the gun at his hip.

"I think we should wait" I replied, "There could still be someone inside that black car keeping watch".

A few more minutes passed, and the moon glowed exuberantly in the starless night sky. Everything had since remained perfectly still. The black car was still a few feet in front of ours and hadn't moved at all. The men were also still inside Darren's house.

I had begun to grow impatient, and I could see that Jaden had also grown anxious.

Suddenly the door opened again. But this time there was no sign of the three men. Jaden and I watched in absolute bewilderment as a young, blond-haired woman stepped out through the door. Even from a distance, I could comprehend her seamless beauty. Her pure, harmless and endearing face that could bewitch any man.

None of it made any sense. We hadn't seen anyone apart from Darren walk into that house since we began watch. I looked at Jaden, and he shrugged to suggest that even he had no idea what was happening.

The woman was now headed towards the black car, her expression still unwavering. She opened it before casually slipping into the front passenger seat. The car remained still for a moment before beginning to accelerate.

"Jaden! Find out where that car is headed!" I called as I got out of the car "I'm going to find out who those black-suited men are!" Jaden wasted no time before accelerating into the distance.

I removed my gun from the holster at my hip before approaching the door. I cautiously pressed my ear to the door to see if I could hear anything.

But it all remained still.

I had begun to grow even more apprehensive.

Just what was happening!?

I held my gun in one hand and gripped the doorknob before twisting it. The door opened with a simple click.

The house was entirely pitch black. I left the door open a crack as my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. There was still no sign of Darren or the other three men. I walked forward from the door and walked into a small living room. There was hardly any furniture, with only a simple chair and television. Empty food parcels and other trash were littered everywhere. The smell of rotten food was rife in the air.

But that smell was soon replaced with something else. The smell of fresh blood.

I quickly turned my head in its direction. I could tell that it came from behind the only room in one end of the tiny living room. Sweat dripped from my forehead as warily walked towards it. My gun was ready to eliminate any sudden aggressors, but the feeling of unease still hadn't left my stomach.

Slowly, I approached the door and turned its handle. It opened easily and beheld me to the contents of the room. I gasped in absolute terror. My stomach turned and vomit emerged from its depths after being presented with that view.

All three men were on the floor, all lifeless. Blood oozed out of their corpses, from injuries that seemed to be the result of multiple knife stabs.

What was astounded more was the fact that Darren was still nowhere to be seen. It made zero sense.

Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket. It was a text from Jaden.

The car stopped in front of a park, the woman went inside and I'm going after her now!

All of a sudden it all began to come together. The woman was the last person to have left this house. She could have been the one to murder these three men! I ran out of the house while desperately calling Jaden on my phone. But there was no response!

I texted him, telling him, begging him to stay away from the woman, but there was still no response.

I began to desperately run towards the direction in which they went, but I knew that I couldn't make it in time this way. My desperate sprint was interrupted by another text on my phone.

I read it and fell to my knees with a desperate cry.

It simply read:

"Goodbye"