Chapter 3: -Shapeshifter-
As soon as I arrived, Edward got out of the car, slamming the door. I enter the house and find him in the living room, staring blankly. I sit next to him, without one of us looking at each other, just glancing at each other from time to time, waiting for someone to say something.
- You were 13 years old! exclaimed Edward, not understanding what he meant.
- What the ?
- When my father died, you were 13 years old.
- And ?
"Why didn't he bring you to Sam?"
"Because I asked her not to."
- Why ?
"Because ... I wanted to stay with her, I was afraid she would do something stupid, as she began to hunt."
-And he forced you to do it too?
- I do not have ... Before my mother started hunting, she first studied the creatures and then she took me with her on the first hunt because I didn't agree to leave her alone, but anyway, she wouldn't let me out of the car. I remember hunting a vampire, hitting her and about to use her for dinner, I had a sword in my hand, and when I came face to face with the monster I froze, my mother injected corpse blood into him, and I took his head and that's how I ended the first hunt. then my mother realized that I could help her somehow, so she took me everywhere with her ever since. In conclusion, it was my choice.
"Weren't you afraid?"
- What a stupid question . I say laughing, then get serious again. I was more afraid to know that something might have happened to my mother, so I took my heart in my teeth.
- I want to help you ! We can go home and hunt all three of us.
- Actually ...
- What else are you hiding from me?
- My mother disappeared two weeks ago.
- Perfect . Do you have anything else?
- Sorry, but if it helps you with anything, we can look for it together.
- Dead?
- Stop saying that in your life, right? I say angrily and raise my voice.
"What's with this noise?" Aunt Ella says, coming down the stairs worried.
-He found out ! I say briefly, then walk around her and go to my room.
The next day *
I go into the kitchen for breakfast, and I notice Sam staring at me as well as Edward.
- What do you have to say, Sam?
- Nothing . Did you really argue?
- I don't even know anymore. I roll my eyes and lower my head, playing with the food.
- Did you know? Did you know? Everyone?
- Yes, Edward. But I don't think you need to dramatize that much. Your mother wanted you to have a normal childhood. I bet if you'd hunted for so long you'd start hating her and texting "I didn't have a normal childhood," so you should have a little respect.
- You are right . Edward says at last, leaving me a little shocked, and giving the situation a small smile.
"Now that we've agreed, would you like to go hunting together?"
- Sure ! Edward says excitedly, but they quickly stop both of their stupid plans.
- Let's not jump the horse.
- You mean?
"Sam, he has no experience, no exercise, he won't even know what he's dealing with."
"I didn't take that into account, but you have all the time in the world to learn it."
- If we omit my mother, maybe.
"I forgot, you could give Edward some of your books and he can read them for as long as you can find a hunt."
- Correct.
After a little research on the internet, I found a hunt. I'm going to Edward's room, who hasn't even seen me, lost in the books. I look at him confused and straighten my voice, trying to get his attention.
- How long have you been reading?
"Well, at first I thought it was boring, but it's actually super fascinating."
"Yes, but if you see them face to face, you'll have a different opinion."
"Have you ever hunted a Crocotta?"
- A what ? Not ! I hunted classic monsters, because there are no monsters on every street corner.
- Okay ...
"Finally, I came here to tell you that I found a case."
- A what?
- A hunt, sucker. In Missouri, it's a walk!
- Are we flying?
- You're crazy ? Do you want us to die? we go by car.
- Wait, you mean you're not afraid to hunt all kinds of creatures, but are you afraid to fly?
- Shut up . I say and leave, entering my room to arrange a few things before I leave.
I've been driving for a while and the problem is not only that I'm numb, but also that the air is getting more and more suffocating, and the peace that Edward exudes makes me horribly bored. I keep thinking about a topic of dialogue, trying to create different questions in my mind to get around all this silence in which I can hear my heartbeat.
"Yeah, so I didn't tell you what the hunt was about."
- Yes right .
"Well, from what I've seen, a man killed his wife, except the man was in Alaska at a convention at the time." he has witnesses who confirm that he was indeed in Alaska, but he also had surveillance cameras that caught him strangling his wife in front of his daughter.
- And ? What do you think it is?
- An illusionist, or a Shapeshifter.
- What is a Shapeshifter ?
- A being that can take the form and thoughts of a person, just by a small touch.
"Have you hunted anything like this before?"
"Only once, two years ago, alone."
"And how do we kill him?"
"Well, as far as I know, they can only be killed with silver."
"And where do we get something like that?" Edward says with an ironic smile, and I smile at him at once, because he has no idea what's in my trunk.
We arrived and the first thing was to stay at a hotel, after which I started to work out the plan, taking more notes with the help of Edward. I walk around bored, trying to figure out how to implement the plan. As much as I would like to succeed, I feel like I can't think of anything.
- Okay, I'm not an expert, but I think we'll have to talk to that man, because we haven't heard anything.
- Yes, I know, if I stay here for another two minutes, I'll get a headache.
"But wait!" I mean ... he's in jail, we can't just go like that, there, he won't say anything.
- I know, brother. You know, my mom and I sometimes took this thing too seriously, so ... sometimes we pretended to be law enforcement to find out some information.
"And you weren't caught?"
- Well, with some fake documents that no one takes into account, we got rid of the clean scarf, but in a critical situation where there is a ninety percent chance of being caught using something like that, the simplest thing is to say that we are reporters or many other commonplace excuses we can getthe information we need.- I don't know what to say, I'm not risking.
- Come on, scared hen, everything will be fine.
- Nothing is good! We are hundreds of miles from home, in a city you don't even belong to, and you want to use fake documents to pretend to be a Jammes Bond! if you're caught here forging documents, you're like dead.
"It's not the first time I've done this, and if you don't want to come, so much the better!"
"I'll come, but I'm not going to do the stupid thing you're planning."
I retire and as soon as Edward, who came after me, shows up, I start the car at the city police station.
*
-Hello ! I tell a bored cop looking over some sheets. He raised his head, looking at us out of the corner of his eye.
- Hello! Can I help you with something ?
- I was hoping so. We are reporters and we were sent to give a short interview to Mr. Alex Chapell, the one you arrested last night.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure you can do that!" Edward looks at me nervously, almost ready to jump on my neck, and I roll my eyes and sit in the chair next to the policeman's desk.
"Come on, sir ... Eddy, we just want to do justice to this man, we just want a short interview and then we leave."
"Okay, but I'll only give you five minutes!"
- Super. Thank you !
I go with the policeman, who takes me to Alex Chapell, Edward, still looking at me frowning and scared at the idea of not being caught. I enter the interrogation room, where they brought Mr. Alex, and I take on the role, making Edward do the same.
- Mr. Chapell, I'm Dean Mosman, and he's my colleague Charley Smith, we're reporters, and I came here as soon as I saw other reporters' reports. we want to know the truth so if you can tell us more about what happened it would be perfect.
- I have nothing more to add, I said everything I know, and people consider me crazy.
- I understand you, okay? We just want you to tell us, to do you justice.
- Good . a few days ago I was sent to Alaska by my boss to a bar.I called my wife and she told me that I was next to her a few seconds ago, and then, a few days later, when I returned, I found her dead, and my daughter hidden in the bathroom, after which the police raided the house, and I was arrested on the spot. That's all I know.
- Okay, calm down, we promise we'll try to make this news as viral as possible, to do you justice.
- Wait a minute! Edward intervenes before I leave the room, so I stop curiously at what he wants to add. -You said you had a daughter ... where is she now? how old is he ?
"I think he's with a friend of hers, and ... he's fourteen."
- Something else ? I ask Edward, and after he confirms it to me, I finally go out.
***
- And now ?
"I think we need to check his house and find his daughter to find out more."
"Yes, okay, but we can't get into his house like that, and besides, I'm sure he has all the doors locked."
- Brother, I can handle it! Stop all this drama! It is neither my first nor my last hunt!
Edward lowers his head, and I nod, gesturing to the car.
- So, the exchanger pretended to be his and assaulted his wife and traumatized the child. How will we find him? What if it changed shape?
- It takes a maximum of twenty-four hours for their skin to regenerate so that it can turn into something else, and they can't stay in the suit too long, so we don't have much time to find it.
As soon as I parked the car, I approached his house, going to unlock the back door. we manage to enter the house, the smell of blood, still feeling in the air. I look at each place carefully, finding a family picture, in which I can finally see his daughter.
- Daniel! I walk quickly to Edward, curious if he has found anything.
- What did you find ....
- What is this ? looks like hell!
- Aaa ... I forgot to mention that he changes his skin after each transformation, which apparently is quite clear that he is very disgusting. I watch Edward's reaction intently, which leads me to believe that he doesn't have much to shed on everything he ate earlier, and I start to chuckle without drawing his attention.
"Let's catch him once we need to see something like this."
- We need to find her daughter, I found a picture of her, according to Alex, she's at a friend's.
"And how do we know which friend she's with, if we don't even know her?"
- We'll have to look around the house, maybe there will be some clues in her room.
as soon as we could figure out where the girl was, we hurried to her to save her before the changer found her. I knock insistently on the door of the house, and fortunately he answers me quite quickly.
- Hi! Is there an adult at home?
- Who are you ?
um ... we were co-workers with your father, and we talked to him and he told us to stop by to see what you were doing.
"It's a ..." She says, snorting and slamming the door in our face. I insist on knocking on the door again until he answers a second time.
"Look, I understand what happened, but we just want to talk, can we come in?"
- Okay.
We finally enter and sit where the girl's friend motioned to us.
- Um ... I wanted to ask you a few things.
"You said it once."
- Yes, sorry ! Okay, well ... has anything strange happened since your father was arrested?
- Not ! Everything that happened was his fault, he's a monster!
- We don't think he's the monster.
- I know what I saw and what happened to me for two days.
- Yeah ... we're really sorry for the experience, but your real dad was in Alaska, he was with us all the time.
- No, impossible!
"I think you know quite well that it's not impossible." You said you knew what you saw and you should know that your father wouldn't do that. she begins to cry, saying.
- Edward, can we talk privately?
We get up and go to a more secluded corner of the room. We look at the girl once more, then look at each other.
"Do you think the changer will be back here?"
- I do not know . she was an accomplice, I think he will definitely come back for her.
"And we'll stay here until he comes back?"
- We take a little more time and if nothing happens I wait in the car.
- Okay.
Edward turns around, but I draw his attention to the fact that we haven't finished the conversation yet.
- What's up?
"Put this on!" I give him a silver chain, after which I signal him to leave.
-Okay, we wanted to make sure everything was fine, if something happens, that's my number, I won't be too far.
- Where's the other girl? Edward says, looking at me worriedly. I answer, shrugging indifferently, but he rolls his eyes and insists.
- Maybe she got bored and went to her room, or went to drink some water ... I stop talking as soon as I hear some noises coming from above.
I climb the stairs quickly and check all the rooms until I find the right room, where I find the other girl, unconscious.
- Edward! I shout and go back, where I let Edward guard the girl and find her girlfriend who was just unconscious in her room. "Edward, be careful!
The exchanger hit Edward before he could pull out his pistol. I'm looking for mine and I find that I forgot upstairs. I try to fight with my bare hands, managing to give her a few blows before I am knocked down, failing to cope with her supernatural force. He looks at me with a winning smile and walks towards the girl.
- Why are you doing this ? she says scared as she tries to step back to get away from danger.
- Because of your parents.
-Here you go ?
"Your father stole your mother from me." Before she had you, crying for nothing, your mother loved me, but he showed up. I waited a while for revenge, but here I am.
"So you thought of acting after fourteen years, when your husband isn't home, pretending to be him, and killing the woman you loved, just because he made a better choice?" I step in, trying to get his attention, as soon as I notice Edward trying to pull out his pistol.
- He could have had everything with me.
- I'm sure of this . That's why after you reappeared you took his life, right?
he frowns and comes quickly to me, but Edward finally grabs the gun and shoots him immediately. I look at him in amazement, giving him a smile, then I get up, remembering the kid, as relieved as she is terrified.
-What was that ?
"In short, this was a monster that killed your mother and managed to imprison your father."
"And what happened to my girlfriend?"
- She's upstairs, we'll take you to the hospital as soon as we gather here before her parents come home. she says disoriented, and we get to work.
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