Chapter 21.1

 Debra pursed her lips as she continued checking the account records, annoyed at the midnight guard, Jones, who kept distracting her with small talk. She was using a program to detect the differences between the submitted account records and the dock records recorded automatically by the computer. So far, there had been two discrepancies and she was sure that this would displease her boss.

With her annoyance at Jones increasing every second, Debra was about to snap when with a low hum, the powers went out. In the dark Jones swore and tried using his battery-powered comm device to contact the guards outside. The crackle of static answered him before loud screams were heard from below.

Chills ran down Debra's back as Jones gestured for her to stay still. Grabbing an automatic rifle, he sneaked to a window and looked down to observe the situation and jumped with visible fright. His eyes caught a figure twice the size of an average man easily decapitating a guard's head. With his bare hands, the figure grabbed the guard's jaw with both arms and pulled in opposite directions. The guard was screaming as his jaw was dislocated, eventually, his screams died as the upper head was ripped apart cleanly, leaving only the lower jaw and a gaping hole, that was once his mouth, connected to the body.

Jones could barely swallow the bile that threatened to escape his mouth when the figure turned to look up at him. His mind screamed for him to run when he saw two bright eyes glowing an eerie blue staring right at him with a knowing glance; at that instance, he knew that the thing below has seen him. Pulling back, Jones tried to desperately activate the security systems but realized that it was hopeless. The entire sector of Sanctuary was powerless.

Bending down, he tried to check if the power input for the secondary generators were working when he was interrupted by the thuds of movement echoing through the room. Debra cupped her mouth to cover the gasp she nearly made when she saw a shadow speed past the window at an inhuman speed and Jones wiped the sweat gathering on his forehead while spinning around to try and detect where the footsteps were coming from.

Even as he aimed the gun, he kept stepping back while swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. His head pounded with fear as he pulled the safety trigger off. Suddenly, he realized that the shadow around him was darker than usual. Turning to look at Debra, he saw her staring back at him on horror. No, not at him. She was staring at the location behind him.

A figure was crouching above the window, a hand on the edge of the roof to support him as it leaned close to the window behind Jones. Before he could respond, the figure smashed a hand through the window. Amidst the shattering of glass, Jones felt the floor disappear before pain erupted from every pore of his body. He closed his eyes and shouted in pain as he felt the shards of glass dig into him when he was forcibly pulled out from the window while Debra screamed in the background. Patters of raindrops kissed his glass-sieved body and his legs swung in an attempt to find a steady ground while he hung in midair, held by the vice grip the creature him in.

Yes, creature was the accurate word. Jones opened his eyes into a squint and stared at the thing holding him, blue eyes that were thrice the size of a human stared back at him. A flash of lightning illuminated the figure for a brief second revealing large serrated teeth in a jaw that wider than an average person; it looked like the jaws of a grinning wolf. His eyes widened in horror as the creature pulled him closer, growling in a low voice.

"Boo," the creature said in a grating voice and darkness filled Jones's vision as a warmness filled his trousers.

Jason blinked when he saw the guard faint.

Am I that scary? Ungh, he pissed himself, didn't he?

With the guard in tow, Jason leapt into the window destroying the glass that remained in the frames of the window. Glancing at the corner where the woman was hiding while covering her face, Jason tossed the guard aside and walked to the computer. The lights returned and power throughout the sector was restored with a press of his holo-display.

The technicians will definitely fix the loop I used to disrupt the power grid, Jason grimaced as he looked at the time at the corner of his HUD; he had five minutes before authorities arrived.

He pulled a small device from his gauntlet. It was shaped like a USB cover and he inserted it into a port on the computer. As soon as he pushed it in, a holographic image covered the port and melded it into the background. It was now impossible to see the port unless one looked for it carefully.

"I'm in," A.V.A reported through Jason's helmet. "I've downloaded their files, sifting through them now."

As Jason occupied himself with the computer, using A.V.A to hack into their systems and delete any feed that recorded him, the woman, Debra, tried to escape silently. As she exited the door, however, a figure came crashing down on her. The slim figure balanced herself with one foot and used her other leg to lithely wrap itself around Debra's neck. She then pulled Debra down slightly to prevent her from escaping or backflipping, and prepared to twist the leg that was flexibly holding Debra in a chokehold; with that twist, she could snap Debra's neck but Fenrir turned around and glanced at her.

"Unnecessary," he said in a cold voice.

"Hmph, you sure know how to take the fun out of a sweet date," Melanie complained with a pout as she used her leg to toss Debra away, knocking her out in the process. Melanie was wearing a mask that covered her upper face, leaving only her full lips and delicate chin bare. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail to prevent it from interfering in a battle.

"I have what we need," Fenrir said, ignoring Melanie's coquettish complaint. "I'll forward it to you once I've compiled everything. For now, let's check those containers."

"Why waste time?" Melanie asked while following Jason who jumped down the tower. "The police will be here soon."

Fenrir didn't answer her and approached a container. He grabbed the lock and tugged it off, using pure strength to break it apart. He pulled the opening aside and Melanie peered in, her expression changing once she saw what was inside. Jason, knowing all too well what he would find, sighed internally and moved to her side.