Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Zack sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the stack of reports that lay before him. The faint hum of the police station around him barely registered. He'd seen it all. The disappearances, the random car crashes, the strange lights in the sky—all of it had become a constant in his life. But this… this was something different. Something worse. And he had no idea how to stop it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. He looked up to find his partner, Kyle, standing in the doorway, a somber look on his face.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Kyle's voice was steady, but Zack could see the concern in his eyes. Kyle had always been able to read him, even when Zack didn't want to be read.

Zack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Kyle. Every night, more people vanish. The car crashes, the strange disappearances—it's getting worse. And this thing… it's hunting, Kyle. And we don't even know what it is."

Kyle stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "What do we know? Have we found any leads? Is there anything that connects all these incidents?"

Zack paused, thinking back to everything they had uncovered. It didn't make sense. There were no solid leads, no real clues—just the same terrifying pattern: people vanishing, car accidents, and the dark presence that seemed to grow stronger with each passing night. The dogs had started acting strange, as though they could sense something the humans couldn't. But even that didn't offer much insight.

"I don't know, man," Zack replied. "We've got some theories, but nothing concrete. All the missing persons… it's like they're just erased from existence. No signs of struggle, no bodies left behind, just… clothes. And sometimes, I hear things. Screams. Crashes. But it's always too late. It's like something's just waiting for the darkness to fall. I don't even know what we're dealing with anymore."

Kyle crossed his arms, clearly frustrated. "So what now? Do we just keep chasing our tails, waiting for it to come after us again?"

Zack looked out the window, the night already falling over the city. He could feel it in his gut—the terror that would come when the darkness finally took hold. But he knew one thing for sure: they couldn't keep going like this. Something had to be done.

"We need answers, Kyle. We need to figure out what this thing is, why it's doing this, and how to stop it. If we don't, it's just going to keep happening. And if we don't stop it soon, I fear that we'll be the ones it comes for next."

The air in the room felt heavier, the weight of their responsibility pressing down on them both. Zack could feel the tension in his muscles, the unspoken fear that had been creeping into his thoughts more and more these past few days. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going like this. The fear was growing, and not just for the people of the city, but for himself. For Kyle. For everyone.

"We'll figure it out, Zack," Kyle said, breaking the silence. "We always do."

Zack nodded, but deep down, he wasn't so sure. The reports had been flooding in faster than they could keep up, each one more disturbing than the last. And with each passing night, the creature seemed to be getting stronger.

That night, they received another call—a party had been raided, but no one could figure out what had happened. The neighbors had heard screaming, but when they went to investigate the next morning, they found nothing. No signs of forced entry, no signs of struggle—just abandoned clothing scattered across the ground.

Zack grabbed his jacket, his hand shaking slightly as he adjusted the collar. "Let's go, Kyle. We need to check this out."

The two men made their way to the location, their hearts pounding in their chests. They had been to dozens of scenes like this, but this time felt different. The city was quieter tonight, almost too quiet. The streets were deserted, the usual hum of activity replaced with an eerie stillness that hung in the air.

When they arrived at the scene, Zack's stomach churned. The house was dark, eerily so. It was a small two-story home, surrounded by tall trees, their branches swaying in the wind. Zack's eyes scanned the area, taking in every detail, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the clothes. Piles of them. Strewn across the yard.

He stepped out of the car, his boots crunching against the gravel as he walked toward the house. Kyle followed closely behind, his hand resting on his gun holster. They were both on edge, knowing that whatever had happened here, they needed answers.

"Another one," Kyle muttered, his voice low. "How many is that now? A dozen? More?"

"At least," Zack replied, his gaze fixed on the clothes. Something about them seemed wrong. There was no blood, no sign of struggle. Just… clothes. As if the people who had been wearing them had vanished into thin air.

"Zack," Kyle said, his voice tight. "Look at this."

Zack turned to see his partner standing near the front door, a look of confusion on his face. Kyle was staring at something on the ground. Zack walked over, his eyes narrowing as he looked down.

It was a footprint. But it wasn't like any print Zack had ever seen before. It was large, deeper than it should have been, as if something heavy had been standing there. And there were no other footprints around it, as if whatever had made it had simply appeared out of nowhere.

"What the hell…" Zack muttered under his breath.

Kyle knelt down, inspecting the print closely. "It's like it just… appeared here. No sign of where it came from."

Zack's mind raced. This wasn't like anything they had seen before. The creature was getting bolder. It was moving closer to them.

They spent the next few hours searching the area, but found nothing. No new clues, no leads. The house itself was empty, and no one seemed to have any answers. Just like all the other scenes they had investigated.

As they left the property, Zack couldn't shake the feeling that they were running out of time. The creature wasn't just hunting anymore. It was taking something from the city, from the people, and it wasn't going to stop until it had taken everything.

That night, as Zack lay in bed, he thought about the little girl from the report he had filed years ago—the one who had vanished without a trace. The same girl whose disappearance had started it all. The same girl who had been caught in the web of whatever this creature was. And now, as strange as it seemed, it was all starting to come together. There was a connection. But what was it?

He didn't know yet, but he was determined to find out. Because if they didn't, if they couldn't stop the creature, then the city would be gone. And with it, any hope of finding the truth.