Chapter 2 - Crime Scene

The streets of Aragoub were still damp from the earlier rain, neon lights flickering against the wet pavement. It was a city at the edge, a place where the law held only a fragile grip, where the desperate and the damned lived side by side. Abandoned buildings lined the outskirts, relics of failed projects and forgotten people.

Inside an alley, a man cursed under his breath as two detectives shoved him into the backseat of a patrol car. His wrists were bound, his face bloodied from the scuffle moments ago.

Alex Carter, a man in his late forties with a gruff demeanor and salt-and-pepper hair, stood beside the car, adjusting his coat. His face was unreadable, the same stern expression he always wore. Beside him, Emma Lane, 32, leaned against their own car, arms crossed, a smirk playing on her lips.

"You know, for a guy who just took down a violent creep, you could at least crack a smile," Emma teased, her voice light despite the grim setting.

Alex exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "What exactly am I supposed to smile about? Another asshole off the streets? There'll be ten more just like him tomorrow."

"So dramatic. You're acting like this job aged you a hundred years."

"You are aging me a hundred years," Alex muttered.

Emma grinned, nudging him playfully. "Come on, admit it. You'd be lost without me."

He shot her a glare. "And yet, I still haven't arrested you for harassment."

She gasped in mock offense. "You wouldn't dare."

Before their banter could continue, their radios crackled to life.

"Detectives Carter and Lane, you're the closest unit to an incident at the Galaxy Apartment Complex. Possible fatality. Dispatching uniformed officers, but you're needed on-site."

Emma's smirk faded. She exchanged a glance with Alex, who was already moving toward the driver's seat.

"Another one?" she muttered, climbing into the car.

Alex turned the key, the engine roaring to life. "Let's see what the hell happened this time."

With sirens flashing, they sped off toward Galaxy Apartments.

Galaxy Apartments

The moment they stepped out of the car, the air hit them like a wall, damp, thick with the stench of smoke, rot, and something fouler beneath it. The Galaxy Apartment Complex stood in front of them like a corpse that refused to die. The burned-out sections of the building loomed over the street, blackened windows staring like hollowed-out eyes.

Emma adjusted her holster out of habit, scanning the scene. A man's body lay at the foot of the stairs, his neck twisted at a grotesque angle. His fingers were curled inward, stiff, as if frozen mid-motion.

Beside him, two children stood unmoving. Their clothes were dirty, their skin smeared with soot, but their eyes, those were the worst part. Hollow. Not crying, not screaming. Just empty.

Emma crouched, lowering herself to their level.

"Hey, sweetie. Are you okay?" Her voice was soft, steady.

The boy, who looked around 16, didn't answer immediately. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, sniffling. "I… I didn't mean to…" His voice was barely above a whisper. "He was chasing me… and then…"

Emma glanced at the body again, her stomach twisting. "It's okay," she said gently. "You're safe now."

Jia was still in a state of confusion, her fingers gripping her sleeve like a lifeline, her round face streaked with shock. She hadn't spoken a word since they arrived.

Emma exhaled through her nose, forcing herself to focus. "What's your name?"

The boy hesitated. "Cain."

"And you darling?" She nodded toward the little girl.

Her arms instinctively tightened around her shoulders. "Jia."

"Okay, Cain, Jia, we're going to take care of you. But I need to ask you something. "Where are your parents?"

Cain's lip trembled. He lifted his small, shaky hand and pointed toward the burned-out section of the apartment complex.

"My mom is inside."

Emma's breath hitched. She followed his gaze, her stomach dropping. That part of the building was barely standing. The windows were shattered, the walls scorched black. It looked abandoned, no, worse than abandoned. It looked like a place where the living had been forgotten.

"And your dad?"

Cain hesitated. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and then, slowly, his tiny hand moved again.

This time, he pointed at the corpse lying on the ground.

A cold shiver ran down Emma's spine. Her grip on the boy's shoulder tightened. "That's… that's your dad?"

Cain didn't nod. He just stared.

Emma forced herself to stay composed, but inside, something twisted, dark and furious. How long had these kids been standing here? Watching?

Around them, the crowd thickened. People stood at a distance, murmuring. Some shook their heads, but none stepped forward. A few even raised their phones, snapping pictures. The dead man, the weeping child, the tragedy unfolding before them, it was just another spectacle.

Emma clenched her jaw. Her fingers twitched at her side, itching to grab the nearest phone and smash it against the pavement.

Instead, she gently turned Cain toward the patrol car. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Jia still hadn't spoken after saying her name. Not a word, not a sound. Emma placed a hand on her head, guiding her into the backseat. "It's okay, sweetheart. Just rest for a little bit." She shut the door carefully, then exhaled, pressing her fingers against her temples. Her pulse was pounding in her ears.

"What the hell is wrong with people?" she muttered under her breath.

Alex had been silent this whole time, his arms crossed. Now, he finally spoke. "We don't have time to be disgusted. We need to check inside."

Emma shot a glare at him. "You don't have time to be disgusted? A child just pointed at his own father's corpse, and you're telling me-"

Alex cut her off with a look. Not cold, not callous, just practical. "You think I don't feel sick too?" he said, quieter this time. "But the mother might still be alive in there. We have to move."

Emma inhaled sharply. He was right. Damn it, he was right.

She turned, scanning the apartment complex again. That's when she noticed him.

A man stood on the second-floor balcony, just outside his apartment door. His posture was slouched, his arms resting limply on the rusted railing. He was staring down at them, unblinking.

Something about him made her uneasy.

"Hey!" she called out. "Did you see what happened?"

The man didn't react.

Alex took a step forward. "Sir, we're investigating a crime scene. If you know anything."

The man's mouth opened slightly.

His lips peeled apart, revealing crooked, yellowed teeth. Some were missing, others darkened with decay. His gums looked sickly, almost black in places. His jaw twitched like he was about to say something.

But no words came out. His tongue moved. His throat bobbed. But there was only silence.

Then, without a word, he turned and walked back into his apartment. The door creaked shut behind him.

Emma stared at the closed door, unease curling in her gut. "That was…" She swallowed. "Fucking weird."

Alex exhaled. "Yeah. But we don't have time for weird."

Emma turned back, an uneasy feeling creeping up her spine. "Did you see the people's faces here?"

Alex sighed, rubbing his jaw. "Yeah. You won't find hope here, Lane. Only the miserable live in this part of the city. Especially in this building."

Emma frowned. "It's like they're used to this. Like it's just another day."

Alex nodded grimly. "Galaxy Apartments wasn't always like this, you know. My father used to talk about it when I was a kid. Said it was once a thriving place, full of families, people with dreams. Then the investors pulled out. No money left to maintain it. Crime took over, buildings rotted, and now it's just…" He gestured at the crumbling structure. "A graveyard waiting for its bodies."

Emma exhaled, shaking her head. "I hate this city sometimes."

"Yeah," Alex muttered. "Me too."

She tore her gaze away from the closed door and focused back on the building in front of them.

"We go in, find the mother, and get the hell out," she muttered.

She didn't say it out loud, but something in her gut told her-

They were about to find something worse than a corpse.

With a heavy sigh, Alex started up the stairs, treading carefully. A misstep sent marbles skittering beneath his foot. He steadied himself, glancing down.

Children's toys. In a place like this?

They stepped into the building. The air was thick with mildew and dust, the walls covered in peeling paint and graffiti. The floors were lined with rotting carpets, water stains blooming on the ceiling.

Alex nudged open a door, revealing a small, darkened apartment. The stench inside was almost unbearable, rotting food, mold, urine.

Emma wrinkled her nose. "Gosh, how do people live here?"

Alex shook his head. "They don't live. They survive."

They moved deeper inside, searching through the clutter. An old television sat in the corner, its screen cracked, its power long dead. On the walls, scribbled messages, half-legible notes, numbers, and names. A single chair sat in the middle of the room, a belt tied around its armrest.

A makeshift restraint.

Alex frowned. "This doesn't feel right."

Emma picked up a notebook from a nearby table. The pages were torn, some soaked with what looked like old blood. "There's something seriously messed up about this place."

Then, Emma froze.

A muffled sound. Coming from the bathroom.

Her breath hitched. Slowly, she moved toward the door, every instinct screaming at her.

Meanwhile, Alex flipped through an old photo album sitting on the table. Only one picture remained inside. A man and woman, poised, elegant, dressed in fine clothing. It didn't belong here.

His brow furrowed. What was a picture like this doing in a place like-

A scream.

Emma's voice. Sharp. Panicked.

Alex's gun was drawn in an instant.

"EMMA, ARE YOU OKAY?!"

He sprinted toward the bathroom and shoved the door open.

Emma was on her knees, trembling, her breath shallow and uneven.

Alex's heart pounded. "What happened?!"

No response.

"EMMA, LOOK AT ME! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Still nothing.

Her horrified eyes were locked on something.

Alex followed her gaze, and stopped dead.

His breath caught. Sweat prickled down his back.

Even after all these years... even after everything he had seen...

"Oh my God..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "What kind of animal would do this to a human being?"

The scene before them was beyond brutality. A woman was tied up, her body beaten beyond recognition. Bound. Broken. A grotesque display of cruelty.

Her eyes, gouged out.

Her frail frame bore the unmistakable signs of torture.

Yet, somehow... she was still breathing. Barely clinging to life.

Then, with a voice so faint it was almost lost in the suffocating stillness, the woman whispered something.

A clue? A warning? A desperate plea?

Neither of them could tell.

But whatever it was...

It was enough to shake them to their core.

Alex grabbed his radio. "Mayday! Mayday! We have a critical situation!"