ARROW BERLIN
"The McKinley's were supposed to infiltrate this house. They did, however, things didn't go according to plan," Arrow's father, Allister, informs her as she secures the silencer on her gun.
"They had their spray on them. But Andrew gave his to Celia, giving up himself to buy some time. The Lycans knew they were there – We don't know how."
"When last did we hear from them?" She asks her father as she douses herself in the spray.
"We lost all communications with them an hour ago. The tracking devices show they're still in the house."
"It's dark enough now," He says looking at the evening sky, the sun setting, dark reds and oranges bathing the sky. "Let's move out," he says, placing his earpiece in.
The group of them spread out stealthily, dividing into two teams. Arrow, her father, and another member, Malik position themselves at the front entrance – The other three at the back. Malik along with one person on the other team carried a black Enforcer ram to breach the doors.
"In 3,"
The men with the rams widen their stance, raising 16kg of hardened steel into position, ready to strike.
"2,"
The men each take a step from the door, building momentum for their strike.
"1 – EXECUTE!"
A loud explosion rings through the air, the sound reaching persons in nearby neighborhoods. A vibration follows the noise, shaking the ground, causing the window panes on houses to tremble.
Arrow finds herself being airborne, thrown backward by a great force – An intense heat radiating against her skin. She lands a few feet away, pain radiating across every inch of her body. Black spots cloud her vision, a high pitch ringing sounding in both her ears. She slides a quivering arm along the length of her stomach, her fingertips getting coated in blood. Through the ringing, she could hear sounds of combat and growls around her - A couple of screams sounding as well.
Through her fading vision, she sees a pair of black boots walk up to her, stopping at her face.
"Well, hello there Anaise. It is Anaise, right? Or is it Arrow? Arrow Berlin."
DEAN STRAKEN
Back at their desks, the detectives work on their case. They go through all their evidence, making calls and searching for new leads.
"So far, all we have is a dead couple and the possibility of them being involved in something." Calvin begins. "What I'm wondering, is, how Francis ended up in that alleyway. We found her husband; Corey in their home – attacked as well. Maybe we're looking at two or more people here. Let's say they go to the house, start their attack – Francis gets away so one chases after her while the other deals with the husband in the house."
"But then why all the evidence? Why leave a body in the alley and at their home." Dean comments. "I'm hoping we get more inside into Corey once we track down his mother. She's our last shot at piecing together this couple's extracurricular."
~
In the medical examiner's office, the two detectives stand before Francis' corpse, the examiner pulling out her files. "Cause of death was internal bleeding." The M.E., Susanna informs them.
"And on Corey?" Dean asks, to which she responds, "Stab wound to the heart."
"Besides the array of wounds, there isn't much to these two," Susanna begins. "They died from their injuries. Corey had blood and skin under his nails but turns out it was his. I assume while trying to undo some restraints, he dug into his skin. Nothing out of the ordinary showed up on the toxicology reports and there isn't any foreign DNA on either of them."
"Damn, so basically you got nothing for us, Su," Calvin says making Susanna shrug apologetically.
"Thanks, Susanna," Dean says with a nod, the two boys turning to leave.
"Straken," Susanna hisses softly catching his attention just as he was about to walk through the door. Dean stops subtly, letting Calvin walk on. Turning back to Susanna, he goes back into the room. "I'll make this quick. The organization called in for this one. She was a Lycan, the husband too. This was a mission gone wrong. I'm letting you know this so you could work the paperwork accordingly. Don't go searching too hard on this one – you have to find a way to close it down before more questions are asked. I've already altered the toxicology and DNA reports. It's up to you to do the rest now," She says hurriedly.
"Yeah, I figured," dean responds, hands going to his coat pocket. "Saw this on the scene. I was worried what toxicology and DNA would show." He hands Susanna the object, a small silver-colored medical injector gun. "It was at the crime scene. I found it before anyone else did, luckily."
"Damn, okay. Well, I'll take it off your hands for you. You better get going." With that Dean leaves the room, speed walking his way to Calvin. "What did you get lost?" Calvin asks as Dean reaches, "Bummed into Chatty Cathy," Dean replies casually. Calvin hums in response, a brief unreadable expression crossing his face before continuing to speak. "Joe called, he got us an address for Corey's mom. Let's go."
~
"MY SON IS A SLAVE TO THE MOON. THE MOON BRINGS OUT HIS DEMONS! BEWARE THE MOON! IT IS EVIL!"
"I think you two should leave now," The home nurse says to the men, pushing them out of the room. Once they pass the threshold, she slams the door in their face. The sounds of the old woman's senile screaming were still audible through the shut door.
"Schizophrenia is a hell of a disease," Dean says gravely.
The two boys get back in their car with a sigh. They'd hoped to get some useful information from Corey's mother but that was nowhere close to what happened. The very minute they mentioned her son's name she began shouting a series of confusing statements – her rambling focusing on the moon and demon creatures.
Dean knew exactly what she was going on about of course. He understood what she meant by "The moon brought out my son's demons!". Corey was a Lycan. Dean deducted that seeing her son shift caused the mother to have some sort of mental break. Doctors, not knowing the truth diagnosed her with a mental illness. The home care nurse told the boys she was deathly terrified of night, especially the nights with a full moon.
As the boys go to drive off, dispatch radios in. "Any available units please respond."
~
Calvin and Dean walk up to the scene before them, watching as firefighters douse the last of the flames. Seeing Joe standing next to an ambulance, they head to him. "Joe," Dean calls out to him as they reach. "What happened here?"
"Seems things got a little heated between these two rival gangs. We only have one suspect – He's in the cop car over there, a teenager " Joe explains. "I'm just about to take him to the precinct, but we think he has another partner in the area."
"Any survivors or witnesses?" Dean asks, Joe responding 'No.'
Dean walks over to the cop car to see the suspect. Glancing through the window, he watches the young boy in the back seat. His face was covered in dirt, debris in his hair. He had a few cuts scattered on him but nothing too serious. The man catches Dean looking, his face scrunching up in disgust before morphing to one of surprise. "Hey, I know you. You're that Slacken guy – The detective aren't you," The man says softly.
"Do I know you?" Dean asks skeptically.
"Listen to me, man! They got Arrow!"
~
YARA ROSEWOOD
On the edge of Tares City sat Clearmeadow Creek. A relatively small town comprised of farmlands, fields, and an abundance of forested areas. Clearmeadow was Tares City's main provider of farm-fresh produce. It was also a nearby vacation destination spot for the city-goers of Tares who wanted to experience the calmness of the countryside, some even owning a second house there.
Deep in the woods, in a partially clear opening sat a cabin made from logs of oak – The wood's natural beauty radiating in the sunlight. Full trees stood around it vibrant green leaves and branches interlocking each other. Wildflowers grew in patches along the forest floor occasionally swaying with the winds.
In the cabin, Yara Rosewood stood before a hunter. He was bound to a chair, stripped down to his briefs – Prosthetic leg removed.
"Still not talking?" Clayton says to Yara as he enters the room, removing his jacket as he walked through the door.
"Not a single word," Yara replies casually to him, eyes still trained on the man.
"Okay. I'll take it from here," Clayton says coming to stand next to Yara. "V wants to talk to you by the way,"
"Have at it," She says to him with a pat on the shoulder before exiting the room. Closing the door behind her she walks off to find Vanessa – a scream of pain sounding from the room as she heads outside.
Outside, she takes in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. "Hey," Vanessa says walking up to her.
"Hey, Clay told me you wanted to tell me something?" Yara replies to her.
"Yeah, things are getting crazy, Yara," Vanessa starts. "There's trouble rising and it's rising fast."
"Tell me," Yara says grimly.
"There is talk of an uprising going around. There are Lycans out there who want to get even with the hunters – Beat them at their own game," Vanessa explains.
"What!?"
"They want to start hunting the hunters! As a matter of fact, there's talk that some small groups have already started doing that."
"Who's behind this, do we know?" Yara asks.
"No, there isn't anyone name as to who was behind the idea, but there are at least six different Lycans out there who are open about attacking hunters and recruiting others to join. And it doesn't even end there," Vanessa says, taking a dramatic pause before continuing. "They are encouraging Lycans to come to Tares City and join their cause, with promises of taking this to other cities once they're done here. They are recruiting from all over."
"Shit," Yara exclaims in surprise.
"Yara, I know lots of Lycans who would gladly join these people and their mission. Hell, I can't blame them! I understand them and why they would want to take this path. I just know the fallout is going to be catastrophic!"
"I feel like catastrophic doesn't even begin to cover it," Yara states softly, her mind reeling over what she'd just heard.
"Part of me wants nothing to do with this Yara, I know it's going to be a messy bloody war. But the other part of me wants to avenge those I've lost. These hunters aren't innocent, and there's a part of me that's screaming 'they deserve what's coming to them!' If I'm being honest, I'm conflicted."
Yara nods in understanding as she looks out into the forest, "I hear you, I really do. Seems we're approaching a crossroads, huh." She says aloud.
"Question is, which road we should take."
~
JENSEN CARTER
"Hey there, I'm looking for a paramedic who works at this station," Jensen says to the firefighter who was standing outside the station packing equipment.
"'Gotta' be a bit more specific pal, we have two medics per shift rotations." The man replies.
"Female. Dark skin, dark brown eyes. She has short curly hair."
"We talking a short afro look or more the taper fade style?" the man interrupts.
"Taper fade," Jensen replies.
"Ah, you're looking for our little Naomi. I'll get her for 'yah'. Am I correct in assuming she saved your life?" the man says with a knowing chuckle.
"Yeah..."