Chapter 36
--- the next morning; 11:00 A.M. ---
"Arf! Arf! Arf!"
Yawning, Kazimir turns to his side, pulling his blanket further over his head.
"Just a few more minutes."
"Arf! Arf!"
The young man rolls his eyes at his ignored request and turns over, coming face to face with a small, black and white Maltese puppy, happily wagging her tail.
"What the fuck? Dad and mama never told me about you."
Reaching down to let the puppy get familiar with his scent, she bites at him, causing the young man to quickly pull his hand back.
"You little motherfuck-
"Good morning, Kazimir! I see you've met Caramel-Strawberry."
"Morning, mama. You named her after Camille's favorite ice cream, huh?"
Mrs. Cizetto chuckles as the small dog runs out of the room.
"Yes, Camille always wanted a Maltese, so your father and I decided to get one for comfort. Well, I'll admit, it was mainly my idea. Anyway, breakfast is on the kitchen counter. I have a doctor's appointment soon and then I'll need to make a trip to the store."
Kazimir shakes his head.
"It's alright, mama. I can pick up the stuff for you."
The older woman raises a brow, taken aback.
"My my, the city's changed you some. I remember when you'd only want to play video games with your friends, now you've become more of a gentleman."
The young man shrugs.
"Guess I've just grown out of it. Besides, I could use the fresh air."
Mrs. Cizetto smiles and hands her son the list.
"Well then, enjoy your walk!"
She leaves the room and Kazimir looks down at the paper, making a confused face.
"All of this?"
Putting the list on his nightstand, he gets out of bed and walks into the bathroom to wash up, before heading downstairs for breakfast.
"Waffles, eggs, and coffee. Very quaint."
He grabs a plate and begins to fill it.
"Morning son. How'd you sleep?"
Kazimir turns to his dad and shrugs.
"Alright. I just had a weird feeling over me half of the time, though."
Mr. Cizetto chuckles.
"It's because you haven't been here in a while, that's all."
The two sit down at the dining table and Caramel-Strawberry quickly runs into the dining room. She looks up at the two men and begins to bark.
"Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!"
"Jeez, your mother spoils this dog too much." Mr. Cizetto says, shaking his head. "Alright, what damn treat do you want now?"
The small puppy whimpers and Mr. Cizetto raises a brow.
"You're not hungry?"
"Arf! Arf!"
"Okay, I don't know what that means, so I'll just go get your mother."
Before he gets up from the table, the older man takes another bite of his waffle and Caramel-Strawberry begins to bark again.
"I get it now. You want a waffle."
The small puppy immediately stops barking as Mr. Cizetto hands her a waffle.
"Arf!" she replies as a thank you, before running off with the waffle in her mouth.
Kazimir laughs and Mr. Cizetto shakes his head.
"She doesn't even eat regular dog food anymore unless it's her favorite treats. I suppose that's good since we won't have any food to waste."
He looks down at his watch and gets up from the table.
"I'll see you later then, son. I have a dentist's appointment in fifteen."
Kazimir takes a sip of his coffee.
"Have fun."
The older male rolls his eyes at his son's sarcasm, before walking out of the front door.
"I think I should hurry and pick up mama's groceries."
Placing his dishes in the kitchen sink, Kazimir walks back into his room, throwing a shirt and coat on before grabbing the list from the nightstand.
"Arf! Arf! Arf!"
Groaning, Kazimir turns around and Caramel-Strawberry rolls one of her toy balls towards him.
"You wanna come along too?"
"Arf!" the puppy replies as a yes.
"Alright, you can come with me."
Caramel-Strawberry happily follows Kazimir out of the front door and prances beside him, nudging her toy ball into the back of his leg.
"You want me to play fetch with you?" the young detective asks, as he stops walking and turns to the small puppy.
"Arf!"
Kazimir crosses his arms and raises a brow.
"I don't know if I should. You did try to bite me earlier."
Looking up at him, Caramel-Strawberry gives Kazimir a sad frown.
"I'm joking." he replies, picking the ball up from the ground. "But first, I need to give you a shorter nickname. How about Carabelle?"
"Arf! Arf! Arf!" the puppy happily replies, jumping up and down.
"Okay, Carabelle. Go fetch."
Tossing the ball halfway across the large partially-snowy plain, Kazimir watches as it rolls down a hillside.
Caramel-Strawberry turns to him and gives Kazimir an "are you serious" look.
"My bad. I'll go get it."
He walks down the hill, the small puppy following him.
"Damn, where'd it go?" Kazimir asks himself, walking backwards. "Oh, fuck."
He turns around and reads the sign he bumped into.
"No further trespassing beyond this point." he says with a shrug. "Yeah, I bet nobody even lives here anymore and we're just going to retrieve your ball, so we'll be fine."
Caramel-Strawberry follows the young man onto a path which immediately led into a woodland.
"Red ball, red ball, red-
Turning forward, the young detective stops repeating the words and looks up at the abandoned building in front of him, which had a green medical cross on the front of it.
"Must've been a hospital. Wonder what kind."
Making his way over to the abandoned doors, Kazimir peeks inside.
"Damn, I can't see shit. What about you, Carabelle?"
"Arf!" she replies as a no, before jumping through a small window opening.
"Carabelle, I didn't say go in!" Kazimir says, groaning.
He quickly opens the door and takes out his phone, turning on his flashlight.
"Where'd you run off to, Carabelle?"
"Arf!" The small puppy barks, walking alongside Kazimir.
"There you are. This place seems weird as hell, let's go."
Suddenly, a loud shriek comes from one of the rooms and Caramel-Strawberry immediately hides behind Kazimir's leg.
The screams grow closer and Kazimir turns off his phone's flash, moving behind some crates.
He squats down, Caramel-Strawberry whimpering out of fear.
"Continue to stay quiet, okay Carabelle?"
The puppy wags her tail and Kazimir peeks from behind the crates, his eyes widening.
Surrounding a table with a dim light above it were roughly twenty people dressed in yellow cloaks.
On top of the table was an unknown man, placed on what looked like a large skewer.
"What the actual hell?" Kazimir says to himself, as he begins to record what was happening.
Caramel-Strawberry begins to whimper, nudging her nose into Kazimir's leg.
He pets the puppy's back, reassuring her that she was going to be okay.
"I know, I know. However, we can't go just yet, we might get caught."
All of a sudden, the group begins to chant something in an unknown language and one of the members pulls out a chainsaw from underneath the table.
The man on the wooden stick eyes widen and he quickly shakes his head.
"Wait, wait, wait please! I promise I'll never step foot on this property again! Please, I swear!"
"We do not forgive those who have already ignored our laws. Say your prayers."
Looking away but still recording, Kazimir feels himself grow sick as the sound of the machine begins to cut through the screaming unknown male's body.
After a bit of silence, he turns back, watching as the group began to feast on the man's body parts.
"You picked a good one boss! This is the freshest liver I've had in awhile."
The head boss deeply laughs.
"Thank you. Remember, we exterminate those who do not follow rules. Now, I want for everyone to come back with a new person. February is coming soon and we need ten hearts to begin our daily ritual."
"Yes boss." the group says, making a circle around him.
Kazimir watches as they begin to circle their headman, chanting something in their unknown language again.
"Alright, I think it's time for us to-
"You have went against our group's wishes. A trial will be put in for you."
The young man's blood runs cold and he turns around, coming face to face with one of the yellow-cloaked people.
"Who the hell are you people?"
*WHAM!*
-- an hour later --
Slowly opening his eyes, Kazimir sits up and blinks a couple of times to rid of his temporary blurry vision.
"Jeez, they couldn't whack my head any harder, could they?"
"Arf!"
Turning to Caramel-Strawberry, Kazimir gives her a smile.
"You're still here, Carabelle? I thought they would've taken you with them."
"Arf! Arf!" the tiny puppy replies, giving Kazimir an angry look.
"Yeah, I fucked us both over, didn't I?" the young detective rhetorically asks followed by a small chuckle. "It's fine, I don't plan to let those bastards take me out anyway. I'll find us a way out, alright?"
"Hilarious."
Kazimir and Caramel-Strawberry look up and turn to their right, noticing an old man sitting by himself in a dark corner. His clothes made him seem as if he was a businessman.
"Who are you?" Kazimir asks, as Caramel-Strawberry begins to growl at the man.
"Tell your pup to calm herself, I'm not in the mood to fight the two of you."
Kazimir pets Caramel-Strawberry's back and she begins to grow quiet.
"Well, that still doesn't answer my question."
The old man sighs.
"I'm just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill office worker. Nothing special about it."
"How'd you get here?" Kazimir asks, scratching behind Caramel-Strawberry's ear.
"My car broke down and I went to find help. Thought somebody might be of help here, but no."
"I see." the young detective says to himself. "One of those yellow cloaked bastards said there's going to be a trial. Know anything about that?"
"Two of the cult members will come and get you. I don't know anything else beyond that, though." the old man replies.
Standing up, Kazimir makes his way over to the door and begins to pull on the knob.
"It's locked from the outside, kid. If we had some type of coin, we could've stood a chance, but these people confiscate any accessories that could be used for escaping."
Taking off his right shoe, Kazimir looks inside and sighs in relief.
"Good, it's still there."
He takes out a pocket knife and the old man raises his brows.
"I usually keep this under the cushion part of my shoe. Guess they were too stupid to scan thoroughly."
Turning back to the old man, Kazimir gives him a smile.
"Ready to go?"