Effortless Dominion

The earliest of the sun rays brought serene to the town.

He had walked all night to this town surprisingly with no resistance. The interest was entirely his own, although he could not have his thoughts at liberty, he still remembered the place he used to live. Back when home and hell were alike.

At one side of the town, where the settlements existed, was an age old house in ruins, barely keeping it's walls standing.

A dog's hostile howl welcomed him to the locality.

The voices grew stronger, heavy on his mind. It was as if something in the area fueled them to get more active. And at the end of the passageway, was the house of his past.

The gate groaned as the wind pressed against it, but the giant rusted iron gate held firm. The wild bush reigning the front small garden, a strong stench of musty odour surrounded the bare house.

He stared at the house beyond, it's condition pathetic under years of neglect. He took a step closer, his boots crunching over gravel. This was where it all began.

After how long was the body discovered here?

And how many?

Somehow he could have a clarity as the damned voices retreated, giving him space to think. Memories flickered- a woman's scream, sharp sting of belt and the metallic scent of blood. The air around him felt heavy and oppressive. For the first time in months, he felt the pull of something real, something from the past.

His gaze focused at the lock on the main gate. The red-brown rust encroached upon the shackle of a giant lock. The lock, now almost one with the rest of the gate was vanished. The gate was inaccessible for life.

Who would want to break the lock anyway?

Not that he came here to claim what was once his.

"Are you looking for someone from this house?"

A young man repeated, when his first attempt to interact with the foreigner failed.

"..... "

After waiting for a response, he stepped forward to interject him.

"Hello? Do you know anyone-"

" I've been out on a stroll, the condition of this house caught my eye. "

He did not plan on staying any longer anyway. The thought didn't last and the voices surged back in his mind, with a target in their eyes.

The young man's hand paused midway as he was responded with an indifferent voice.

No eye contact, his every effort to avoid the conversation and then the hurriedly distancing back of this foreigner, a local man like him was filled with suspicion.

So he was followed for five minutes straight and the local market with decent crowd was now visible at a distance.

-------

" Speed up, we might be able to catch him." A man on the back seat of car spoke hurriedly.

Jones on the front seat had been turning a dead ear to their conversations. Those unsolved cases, the little information they knew, she knew all of it was baseless to discuss.

However the thing that troubled her was a cryptic message she had received last night.

And those five missed calls.

She cursed under her breath.

How could he possibly know that? And why wouldn't he answer he calls now?

But there was definitely something that he knew besides the message.

' There must be a new murder case tomorrow. I don't know where that would be though. '

She couldn't shake off an ominous feeling since the morning when they were informed about another murder case.

The details were shared while they were leaving for the site of crime. The message and then this news seemed more than just a strange coincidence.

He denies when I ask him, and then he knows about a possible murder!

It's like I'm intentionally being kept in the dark.

They arrived at the village in an hour. One of the local cops guided them to the local market, where a body laid in the pool of blood.

The market was in complete terror. The villagers gathered at the edges of the market, their whispers grew louder each moment. The blood splashed on the vegetables of the nearby stalls put their hearts at unease. The loss of a young child was enraging as some began to curse out loudly.

'A devil's work'- one old man muttered, clutching a rosary. Mothers shielded their children's eyes while others watched the investigators arrive at the village.

" We were informed about a murder at house number 311. This is.. " Ross squinted his eyes at the cop, dubious about the situation.

" I was informed to escort you here first. This was reported 40 minutes ago, but I suppose you weren't informed about it. House 311 is being searched by our personnel for a while. " The cop explained calmly.

Ross turned to look at Jones. She stared at the body not far away, frowning aggressively.

" Please escort him to that house. We would like to split up and examine both the sites. " Jones spoke after a pause.

The search was started simultaneously at both locations. The market place was drowned in a strange silence.

The terrified look of people made the situation worse, as a rumor had circulated among them in the meantime.

" This girl here claims that she knows what happened to him. "

" Does she? " Jones asked the other investigation officer who introduced the girl to her.

" Given her tender age, I don't think she's reliable. I mean she's speaking of the impossible.. " The officer whispered close to Jones, with an uncertain expression.

Jones glanced at the girl who was shivering with fear. Her repeated terrified peeks towards the sky made her face pale. Her clenching fist made her hands devoid of blood and the frequent twitching in between her silent crying gave a sense of certainty in Jones mind.

This girl couldn't lie, even if she didn't tell the actual facts.

" Hi dear, I'm here to look into the matter. Would you care to help me out by telling me what you saw earlier? " Jones crouched at the level of little girl, speaking as softly as she could.

The girl nodded obediently.

" Then would you tell me everything you saw earlier, starting with place where you were present at that time? " Jones added.

While at house number 311, Ross confirmed the victim to be a player of the system. He was the only one besides Jones who began to have doubts about this system for a while.

The forensic doctor examined the body lying in the pool of blood.

The fatal wounds at the chest penetrated deep into his heart where his thorax along with the heart was shredded to pieces. It was robbed of it's blood which bathed the body from the outside.

The only issue troubling the doctor was to determine the potential weapon used to cause such strange wounds.

But what troubled him more was not the uncertainty but the connection between the two corpses.

" These two have same type of wounds except that this one here was attacked on the eyes too. " The doctor said.

The same wound on chest, the same shreds of muscle inside the body. The additional wound on the face of the corpse at the market was that it's eye sockets were empty.

Shredded chest. Missing eyes.

Could someone actually do that in a crowded place like this? He would have screamed in pain at first which would have attracted attention on the spot but none of those locals seemed to have any idea about it. Unless, his eyes were gouged out from his lifeless body that is after his death.

" You know what's more thrilling? " Jones interrupted, her brow raised in bewilderment.

" The little eyewitness we have here says that a black scavenger bird is to blame for his death. "

*****