The Deadman

The local police got to Hanzek first after William made the call. They started a firefight and because of this Robert got to enter through the back silently. The moment he took a step inside, a heavy feeling was pushing down on him.

A pair of eyes were watching his movement. Robert trusted his instincts and drew a seal on the back of his hand. The seal not only disperses all magical hexes but also his ability to use them.

Relying on his senses. Robert navigated the halls and found a creepy feeling pushing down on him. As he goes further in he stopped. He swings his head around and finds a hairless and skinless creature growling at him.

It had the appearance of an emaciated dog. Its jaws were hanging wide. Spines were on the creature’s spine. Robert recognizes the Gwyllgi. He had seen many things in his life and yet seeing this ghostly creature made Robert realize how different things were here.

The creature rushed at him. Robert fired the AK with empty lungs. Ducks down and slammed the butt of the AK like a hammer. The creature shrugged the blow and barked t him.

Robert drew his butterfly knife. Grabbed the dog and stabbed it repeatedly in the neck. The knife didn’t pierced. It felt like stabbing a truck’s tire. Knowing this. Robert grabbed the beast from the neck and throws it back. Quickly he took a grenade from his bag and lobbed it on the beast.

He sprinted to cover. The grenade exploded, the shrapnel flying everywhere. He looked at the creature. It was injured. But it was still standing. Its left eye was injured.

Robert breathed in. He took his knife out and prepared to catch the creature. The creature bares its fangs again. Robert tried to grab the mutt on the neck again. But it dodged his hand and tried to ram the spike on its spine on Robert's chest.

Robert sidesteps and elbowed the mutt on the side. He grabbed the mutt on the neck and slammed it on the floor. He inserted his butterfly knife into the ear of the mutt. Stabbing the creature repeatedly. The creature barked. Robert freeze. The mutt leapt away and shook its head.

The left eye of the creature started regenerating. Robert exhaled. He took a stance and prepared again as the mutt tries to bite him. The mutt avoids him thrice. Robert caught the mutt and this time he kneed the neck of the mutt. Stabbed its eye with his butterfly knife and pushed the knife deep into its brain with his palm.

The mutt whined loudly and tried to get away from. Robert slammed his foot on the head of the mutt. This time Robert pulled his pistol out of his shoulder holster and shot the mutt in the ear. The bullets tore through Gwyllgi’s brain. Not letting it go. He wrapped his bicep around the mutt's neck. Took a stick of dynamite out of his bag. Tore the fuse shorter with his teeth and inserted it into the mouth of the creature and lit the fuse. He took the knife out of its eye. He sprinted away and watched the dynamite explode from a distance.

This time the creature’s jaw got exposed. Itwas  still alive and Robert could see that it was regenerating. Robert clicked his tongue. He pointed his gun and emptied a mag on the exposed brain.

Takes his knife out again. Robert tore through the chest cavity of the creature and pulled the creature’s heart. Robert threw it on the ground and emptied another magazine on it.

He inserted a magazine in his pistol. Pulled the slide and looked around him. The pressure bearing down on him was gone. He took the seal off the back of his hand.

“That’s eight uses left for me today.”

He followed the stairs upstairs. Reaching the top of the building. There was a large room. Robert opened the door slightly. Pulled the pin of a grenade and lobbed it inside the room

“Get down!”

The floor shook. Robert pushed the door open. Found all the targets in the room and fired all seven rounds on his pistol’s magazines. He took the magazine out. He heard a click. The guy hiding behind the desk tried to fire at him, but Robert threw the magazine on the guy he assumed to be Dayton faster.

He quickly checked his holster and belt.

"Three mags left."

He muttered and stowed away his pistol and forming a hand seal with his fingers. He threw a binding rope on Dayton and pulled him like a puppet with strings.

He tethered the binding rope and lifted him off the floor.

He looked at the binding light and then at Robert.

“How the fuck are you alive?”

Robert held the barrel of his pistol. And slammed the butt of the pistol on Dayton’s knees, cracking them. He grabbed Dayton's shoulder and forearm and pulled it, dislocating it.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He dispelled the binding light and lets him fall on the side. He looked at Robert with shaking eyes. His lower jaw clattering. Robert looked around him. He turned over the folks he shot. Checked if they were playing dead and executed the one that survived with a shot to the head.

“Fucking psycho!”

“Gotta be careful. You Two Fingers, right?”

“I am! You fuck cracked my knees!”

Robert took out his badge and showed it to Dayton.

“You’re being arrested for the crime of smuggling humans for ritual sacrifices and the summoning of a lesser creature to the material world. Because you have violated the Nonmagi Pact signed by 190 countries. Your basic human rights are now forfeit. Therefore you will be treated as a dangerous individual. Any actions against the arresting officer will be treated as resisting arrest and thus I must warn you that I will be allowed to execute you to prioritize safety. So please do not resist arrest.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now, asshole?”

Robert radioed William.

“William. I got Dayton here. Don’t let the officers enter. These bastards had summoned a creature from the other side to this world here. It’s a gwyllgi. There might be only one, but it’s better if we take this seriously with utmost care.”

“Should I call a Cleaner?”

“You should. I ripped the mutt’s heart out and shot them. I didn’t have any depleted uranium bullets so it took a while to kill the bastard. I’ll seal the upper floor for now. No one should be looking to come up.”

Robert looks at Dayton and points at the floor.

“Stay. Don’t move.”

“Fuck you.”

He walked to the stairs and placed a seal on the entrance. It was a seal that turned people away from climbing the stairs. Unless they have keen eyes. They’ll only see a wall blocking their way or unconsciously avoid going up.

Robert finished the seal and sighed.

“Crazy, crazy world.”

He slapped his forehead and grunts.

“A demonic dog. And this was just a lesser creature. I guess there’s someone who can summon them. The question was how many did they get to summon that fucking mutt?”

Robert returned to the room and found Dayton squirming. He looked around. Other than the dead. The items that caught his eyes were the desks with typewriters on them. There were only two computers. He took Dayton’s phone first and opened his computer.

He browsed through his email. Noting down all the contacts that he had and writing down the notes of his passwords, bank account, and numbers in his phonebook. He checked the recent items he opened on his computer. He had ten pages worth of excel spreadsheets.

“Name, age, status, how much they were bought for, and when they were sold and consumed. Jesus, you guys sure are meticulous, I can at least respect that.”

There were a thousand entries on the computer. It seemed  that they were fond of blood harvesting. Drinking Drencrom concocted from the fresh blood of the young and women to gain youth. It was also known as Báthory’s Wine. A concoction that a madwoman made to keep her youth. The difference was that this one wasn’t made of virgin blood.

Robert opened one of his folders and found pictures of young children and women being drained of their blood. Some were gutted like pigs. The rest were harvested for their organs.

Robert had seen similar things in his other life. And yet even when coming to this world. He couldn’t stomach seeing young children die this way.

Robert held on to his rage. He told the ill-tempered passenger in his head to not beat this man to death. That he needed to hold on to his reason and get everything that he could. Don’t let his rage dictate what's needed to be done here.

Instead, he checked every picture in the folder. Checking them one by one while waiting for William and the Cleaner to arrive. It took minutes. William walks in on the scene and groaned at the sight of the room. He looks at the bastard and then circles around to see what Robert was looking at. Seeing the pictures. William cocked his pistol and pointed it on Dayton’s head.

“Fucker.”

Robert grabbed William's pistol.

“Calm down. We need the bastard talking.”

“Jesus fuck, how are you checking this shit?”

“Cause I need to know. I want to know. Gather everything we can on this shit and find them.”

William turned off the monitor.

“Let us handle this. Bartholomew here had checked everything. No more hell spawns here. I think we found where they are processing them.”

“How many?”

“About hundreds. Mostly women and children of color. Easy to abduct.”

“It’s not here isn’t it? This shithole they are using to gut them.”

“Doubt it. We’ll tear his soul out if it means getting him to spill everything. I was planning to be merciful… but this shit doesn’t excuse it. I doubt the Commission’s going to like what they see here either. We found the hell mutt. The Rosaritas are interested in the remains. Would you mind if we have Bartholomew here take it to them?”

“I don’t really care.”

“Okay then.”

Robert stood up. He looked at the computer and then puts his eyes on Dayton. The bastard was muttering something. Robert took out the phone he got from him and gave it to William.

“He had a lot of information on that computer. Phone’s full of contacts as well.”

“I’ll take it. We’ll have the boys visit these fucks once we identified them. Are you interested in helping us?”

“I might be. Don’t know yet. Ask the Commission about it first.”

“You made a lot of mess today, Oswald. But you got this bastard fast. I appreciate that. But still, I need you to calm down using these methods. It works. But you’re gathering a lot of heat. The whole city was wondering about the movement of the police.”

“I know. I wasn’t being careful. But I don’t appreciate caging people and taking them away from their homes. Makes me want to tear through their limbs.”

“I feel the same. You did well. But we’ll handle this. We’ll call you when we need the help of the Commission again.”

“Mind if I use your car, sir?”

“I don’t. I'll take it back after you use it though.”

William took his wallet out and gave him one hundred euros.

“Get something to eat or drink. Clear your head. Try to relax.”

Robert took his gaze away from Dayton and walked out of the room. William looked at his back and then looked at the edge of the desk where Robert was sitting on. He had torn a piece of the desk with his hand.

William looked down at Dayton. Dayton looks at William while groaning. William squatted down and looked him in the eyes. There was pity in

William’s eyes. A cold pity that sent a chill on Dayton’s spine.

“You should have died here. Unfortunately, he held himself back. I’d give you advice, Dayton. You seem to know how this side of the world works. Just talk. Do yourself a favor and maybe. Just maybe. I might just put a bullet on your head before they grind your soul for violating the Pact. You might not be the guy who did the sacrifice and summon that fucking hellspawn. But right now, you’re a dead man walking. I hope they show you mercy. Because by God you just pissed them off.”

Dayton tried to open his mouth. He found no words coming out of it. William signaled Bartholomew. He grabbed him by the leg and dragged him out of the room.