After walking for several hours, I reached the outskirts of the Oligarchs subdivision. There were trees and undergrowth, where I remained hidden while I inspected the perimeter. My head ached, and I suffered from constant dizziness. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, and my mouth was dry. I had to stop more than once to catch my breath.
Getting in wasn't going to be easy, since the gated community was surrounded by a wall with electrified barbed wire and there were surely security cameras everywhere. More than one police car remained hidden among the trees, perhaps hoping that Dark would return to the scene of the crime, although that would never happen because he knew better.
Climbing that wall was the only option, so I headed towards an area where there were no hidden police cars, gathered some magic in my feet, and after looking around to make sure no one was watching, I ran towards the wall and jumped, propelling myself with a spell. I almost cleared the wall completely, but I managed to grab onto the parapet. I gathered a little more magic in my arms and launched myself upwards with enough force to jump over the electrified barbed wire and land on the other side. As soon as I touched the ground, I rolled over so the impact wouldn't fall on my knees.
I looked around and realized I'd fallen into someone's garden. I immediately searched for a quiet place to hide. The lights were off, and there wasn't any sound. I couldn't find any security cameras anywhere either. Again, I felt a sharp hunger, like my stomach was eating itself, but I still couldn't rest. I gathered a little more magic in my feet and jumped onto the roof. There aren't usually security cameras monitoring those areas, and from up there, I could see if there were any police cars or security personnel. I looked around and despite the passage of time, many of the houses were still destroyed, and almost all the others had "For Sale" or "For Rent" signs.
At that moment I saw the flames, the rubble and the bodies lying in the street; the smell of burning returned along with the total silence, that blood-curdling aura and the fear that it entailed; I felt again every punch that Dark had given me, I felt again the broken ribs, the lack of air, the certainty that I was going to die.
And then I suddenly snapped out of it. I was still on the roof of that house, but my hands were shaking and I was covered in sweat. I had unconsciously created a bubble-like shield around myself. I dispelled it and immediately felt exhausted. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.
At that moment, that was all that existed.
The only thing I thought about.
Feeling a little better, I looked around. Not a single car on the street or in front of any house. Not a single light was on in any of the houses. Everything was completely silent.
Maybe no one lived there anymore.
With a tiny bit of magic, I leaped down to the street and walked quickly and silently. I avoided every security camera I saw, even if it meant taking huge detours. After wandering for a while, guided only by the vague memories of that day, I reached the street where it had all happened. The wrecked SUVs were gone, but it still smelled of something burning, though I wasn't sure if the smell was real or just a memory surfacing. I quickened my pace; the house where Dark had taken Katya was a little further on, and I didn't want to linger any longer on the street, exposed to the security cameras and my own memories.
But before I arrived, I noticed several holes in the street and recognized the spot. That was where Dark had shot Olivia. Instinctively, I sought cover because there had to be a security camera pointed at that area. Judging by the holes, I concluded that the shots were from magic. Although, why were there so many if Dark had killed her with just one? Had she survived the first spell, and Dark had to finish her off afterward? No, to finish her off, he would have only needed one or two more spells, not that many. Besides, if he had fired multiple spells, the blood would have been everywhere. That's it! Dark cast the first spell on Olivia, and it was enough to kill her, but her blood splattered everywhere, and he erased the evidence by destroying the stained asphalt.
The body must have been taken somewhere else, because her silhouette was not marked on the asphalt, and that would also explain why my team and I did not see it when we passed by here.
Anyway, I kept going and arrived at the house. It was just as I remembered it. Both the house and the street in front were cordoned off with police tape. Dozens of different silhouettes were marked on the asphalt. There were still dried bloodstains everywhere. Dark had probably killed them after transforming because he hadn't bothered to erase the evidence or move the bodies.
I entered the garage, and it was extremely spacious, large enough for about twenty cars. The walls were covered in bullet holes. The SUV from which Dark had taken Katya's body was gone, but oddly enough, there was a chair and blood on the floor nearby. I approached the scene and inspected it carefully, as I didn't believe it was Dark's doing; there was usually much more blood at his crime scenes. Besides, he always tortured in basements or somewhere the screams of his victims couldn't be heard; the garages are very close to the street, and their metal gates do nothing to insulate the sound.
I checked the chair and noticed that there were torn pieces of tape on the armrests, and it was obvious because whoever had done this should have used a lot more tape to prevent the victim from escaping and should have tied their arms to the backrest instead.
It was definitely not Dark who had tortured anyone here. It was probably someone else, a novice. And it was most likely that he had tortured Olivia because neither Dark nor Katya showed any signs of torture, not to mention that Dark killed Olivia while she was trying to escape, which coincides with the torn pieces of tape.
It was probably Katya who tortured Olivia. Or maybe it was someone else.
Speaking of Katya, the fact that she was shot in the back of the head while she was in the truck was strange, to say the least. Normally, she would have been shot in the forehead. When she was shot, she was facing backwards, which isn't very common inside a truck and isn't a position you usually stay in for very long. So she must have been moving at the time of the shot and shooting someone while they're moving isn't easy. Normally, a killer would wait for their victim to return to their original position to ensure the shot, which led me to believe that Katya was killed by a stray bullet and not by an intentional shot.
Perhaps that armed group wanted to kill Dark, and she ended up in the middle of it all.
She was then collateral damage, something sadly very common in confrontations of this kind.
But why did that group want to kill Dark? Did it had something to do with Olivia's kidnapping, torture, and murder? She was the daughter of former Governor Dipshet, and perhaps he wanted to kill Dark to avenge Olivia's death. Or perhaps he didn't yet know she was dead and simply sent the armed group to try and rescue her. Whatever the reason, Katya died during the confrontation and Dark probably killed Dipshet in revenge, without us being able to save him.
Given that Dark killed Olivia in the middle of the street, it wouldn't be surprising if someone saw it, or if the security guards themselves saw the security cameras and informed Dipshet of what happened. So, it's very likely that he sent that armed group to kill Dark in revenge for his daughter's death.
But the most important question is, why did Dark take Katya with him instead of just escaping? What kind of relationship did they both have?
I was sure that if I answered that question I would be closer to discovering Dark's whereabouts.
I entered the house and, without turning on any lights so as not to attract attention, walked down a hallway, although there were so many windows in the house that plenty of light came in. At the end of the hallway was a strangely empty room: there were a couple of armchairs, a table, and nothing else—no decorations, no books, nothing. The walls were covered with solitary nails and the outlines of pictures that used to hang there. In my years as a Hero, it was common for many things to disappear from the houses the police investigated. Clearly, this was no exception.
I continued and noticed that in some rooms were missing TV screens, speakers, and even the microwave in the kitchen. I turned on the tap and drank the water that came out of it. Immediately, I felt my stomach growling, and after drinking for a few seconds, I opened the cupboard in search of food; it consisted of six doors with several shelves, and on all of them, there were only some crackers and an old cereal box. I grabbed it all and ate with such desperation that I didn't taste anything; I just chewed and swallowed.
The more I ate, strangely, the more intense my hunger became, but I knew that eating until I was full would only cause me to vomit it all up later, so I stopped eating when I felt I had had enough and put several crackers in my pockets.
I entered a room, and it was so dark I turned on the light. Surprisingly, they hadn't taken the TV screen yet. I opened the closet, and only a few women's clothes remained. They seemed to belong to someone young, Katya perhaps. And if this was her room, I'd probably find some clues there. I looked around her entire closet and only found an empty laptop case. If I found that laptop or her cell phone, I might be able to get more information about her and her connection to Dark.
I went to his desk, and all that was left was a keyboard and a mouse, both disconnected. The rest had probably already been taken by the police. I searched the drawers and found the screen's remote. On the newer screens, you could install different apps and even social media. I turned it on, hoping to find some clue, anything at all.
The first thing that appeared was the main menu with different apps, like Realstagram. I opened it and found dozens of photos of her and Dark in different parts of the world. In one, they were both on a snowy mountain, and she was taking a selfie while Dark had fallen face first into the snow; in another, they were at a gala party. "Happy New Year" was the caption. Apparently, the two of them had been traveling the world for over a month, which perfectly explained why Dark had stopped doing crimes all of the sudden.
I continued watching those photos, and almost all of them showed places on the other side of the world. Only the last one had been taken relatively close by, in Elitesburg, a city in the neighboring country; it showed Dark looking out at the sea from a hill. He was smiling. Personally, I had never been to that place, but I recognized it immediately: it was one of the most luxurious parts of Elitesburg, a very exclusive neigborhood called Onepercenter, where celebrities and politicians like Diddlecrook, Dipshet, and even General Tantrum had their beach houses. I knew this because they had boasted about it to my team and me on more than one occasion.
As I looked at the photos of the two of them again, I remembered the moment Dark took Katya away. I remembered how carefully he held her, the sound of her wailing, and the pain that emanated from her. She had been very important to him.
As I looked at the photos of the two of them again, I remembered the moment Dark took Katya from that SUV. I remembered how carefully he held her, the heartbreaking cry he uttered, and the pain his aura emanated. She had been very important to him.
I also noticed that Olivia wasn't in any of these photos, only Katya and Dark. Where did they both meet, and why did they become so close? Why had Dark abandoned his gang and Saint Money to travel with her? What had happened on those trips?
At that moment, I heard someone entering the house. I turned off the screen, the bedroom light, and hid behind the opened door. I heard footsteps slowly approaching. I could clearly feel two rather faint auras that soon reached the hallway leading to this and all the other rooms. They paused in front of a door for a few seconds and moved to the next. They kept doing this until they reached the door of the room I was in. They stopped there and shone a flashlight inside. I remained completely still; I even held my breath. The light moved from one corner to another, onto the bed, the desk, and I was right next to them, barely hidden behind the open door. One of the security cameras must have caught me coming in here, and that's why they had come.
After inspecting a seemingly empty room, they left to continue their search. I waited there until I could couldn't sense their auras, then I left. By then, I knew exactly what to do next: that photo in the Onepercenter neighborhood was the only clue I had, and if Dark had returned there, there was no way anyone else would find him. Who would think of looking for him there, in a place where millionaires vacation?
I ruled out all the other places Dark and Katya had traveled to because they were on the other side of the world, and I didn't believe that Dark, even with that monstrous power he had, could have teleported that far.
So I left the Oligarchs subdivision and headed for the highway. After all, if I got there and didn't find Dark, I'd be far enough away for Lancel, Tantrum, and all their people to find me.