CHAPTER NINE: INTRODUCING DERIK

A man quickly highlighted from the car, held up a gun, and scurried to where they’d gathered.

“Hey!” he shouted, firing off three rounds to warn them off.

Gunshots echoed throughout the dark street, and they scampered, leaving Kevin to lie in pain on the earthen floor. Aiming in their direction, the man fired. The thug in the black jacket stumbled to the floor while attempting to flee; the bullet had caught his knee. He shrieked, holding the injured knee to stop the bleeding. 

In a desperate attempt to flee, he crawled on his knees—wilting, trying to get away. The armed man quickly caught up with him and grabbed his hair, held him up and kicked him hard on the knee. Shady uttered a loud, horrible cry, his knee bleeding. 

The armed man grabbed his hair and forced him to gaze up at him. “What’s your name?”

“Screw you!” the thug sputtered.

A punch landed squarely on his broken nose, arousing the pain. The thug piped up, spitting out blood. 

Holding up his hair, the armed man uttered in a harsh voice, “I will not ask again.”

“Shady,” he cried in a strained voice. “The name’s Shady!”

“Well, Shady, I’m not going to lie,” the armed man leaned forward, holding the gun to his head. “This is going to be a really terrible night for you.”

He took out a handcuff and bounded Shady’s wrist. Picked him up and dragged him to his car, locking him up in the backseat, and then he went back for Kevin. He carried Kevin on his shoulder, reeling him to his car. 

Kevin was nearly unconscious, his clothes torn, multiple bruises scattered across his face. Securing Kevin in the passenger seat, he scampered to the driver’s door and entered the car, then drove away.

A few minutes later, Kevin came awake, unsure of what just happened. Those thugs had done quite a number on him. He felt sharp pains in every inch of his body. The man handed a towel to him as he steered the wheel, eyes on the road. “Here, clean yourself up. You look like shit.”

“Thanks.” Kevin weakly took the towel from him and wiped the blood off his face. He groaned as he touched his broken nose. Then he turned to Shady sitting behind. The thug sat quietly, looking straight ahead at both of them, hands bound in cuffs. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be in quite some pain. 

That’s when Kevin realised that he’d been rescued by the stranger at his side. He returned his gaze to the road ahead, then glanced around the car in admiration. “Fancy car for a cop,” he commented, trying to start a conversation.

“I’m not a cop,” he said firmly, eyes still on the road. “Just a special agent at a taskforce.”

Kevin smiled. “Sorry, my bad. I’m Kevin, by the way, and thanks for saving me back there.”

He said nothing.

The conversation wasn’t going the way he wanted. “And you are—”

“Name’s Derik,” he spoke reluctantly, without turning to look at him. “And I wasn’t exactly saving you back there.”

His brows rose.

“The guy seated back there is a registered sex offender and an armed robber. We had already arrested him a few weeks back, but he escaped from custody, and ever since then I’ve been tracking him—along with the rest of his gang, until yesterday they assaulted a lady, seriously injuring her. Her dad commissioned me to find them and bring them in once and for all.”

Kevin blinked in surprise, quickly realizing who he was talking about. “Natasha?” 

Derik finally turned to look at him, equally surprised. “You know her?”

“I registered at a college yesterday, that’s where I met her.” 

“You guys are friends?” he smiled for the first time, returning his gaze to the road. “Small world, huh?”

“We aren’t exactly friends,” he wanted to say but swallowed the words back in.

The cuts on Kevin’s arms and the bruises across his face piqued his attention. “What were you doing back there that got you entangled with these thugs?” Derik asked. “They could have killed you if I hadn’t shown up.”

“Same reason as you; I wanted to make them pay for what they did to her. I just couldn’t sit back when there are some really bad people, such as him—” he tilted his head towards Shady. “—who deserves to be punished, are walking in the street free.” 

“So you went in all by yourself, without a gun or anything to defend yourself? You were sitting ducks, man. What were you thinking, seriously? Next time you want to do something like that, at least get yourself a gun, or something you can defend yourself with.” 

He smiled, “I’ll try to keep that in mind next time.”

His eyes were drawn to Derik’s gun, which he’d tucked in his trousers. In the silence that followed, he said, “Just a special agent at a taskforce, huh? If you’re not a cop, why do you have a gun?”

“I work with TCU.”

“TCU?” His brows drew together. “What’s that?”

“TCU, short for Threat Control Unit—not sure you’ve heard of it.”

He was right; Kevin was clueless.

“It’s an agency primarily set up to combat secondary threats which the cops can’t handle.”

From the way he responded, Kevin could tell that he was obviously not interested in having this conversation. But he pushed it. “Is there any threat in this city the cops can’t handle?”

After a brief silence, Derik let out a deflating breath and turned to him. “I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but there are humans living in this city who can transform into some kind of animal. When they change, they possess inhuman abilities like superhuman strength, increased speed, or enhanced senses. Now that’s a threat not even the cops can handle.”

“Shapeshifters?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, like shapeshifters, but that’s not what they are called. We call them Shifters.”

For a moment, Kevin became blanketed by silence. 

“Hey, can you take these damn cuffs off me?” Shady grumbled from behind. “These chains are killing my wrist.” 

Derik didn’t pay him any attention, he just kept on driving. “You have a house?” he asked, moving his eye to the corner to glance at Kevin.

“Just a few clicks from here, you will come by a T-junction, take the left,” he explained, then fell silent. The warmth that had canopied them just a moment ago evaporated.

After another moment of sheer silence, Kevin asked, “These humans who transform into animals.”

“You mean shifters?” Derik interrupted him.

“Yes, shifters.” he paused briefly, recollecting his thoughts. “What happens when they are captured?”

“We burn them alive.”

“Have you seen one before?”

 “No.”

“How certain are you that they exist?”

“I was only employed recently, so I haven’t gained much experience in the field yet. But the people I work with at TCU have seen a countless number of these monsters.”

A minute later, Derik came by a T-junction, and then he took the left. Kevin poked his head through the window. “Pull over here,” he said. 

Derik pulled up beside the side lane, and Kevin got off.

“What are you going to do with him?” Kevin asked, gesturing towards Shady.

Derik glanced backwards. “I don’t know yet. It’s up to Mr William to decide how best we deal with him.”

Kevin looked at him. “Want to come in and grab dinner?”

“Nope,” he politely refused. “Wouldn’t want to impose. Besides, I have to drop him off at the precinct. Would you like me to come round? This weekend, maybe.” 

“Sure. You’re always welcome.” Kevin gave what he hoped was a genuine smile, trying to be patient. Then Derik drove away, and his smile slipped away. He scowled, following the car with his eyes until it disappeared into the darkness.

I don’t like that guy.

###

Kevin quietly slid the window to the side. He was careful not to wake Cedric. He reached for the switch and turned on the light. His eyes fell on the clock hanging high on the wall.

2:14 am.

Kevin took off his shirt and dropped it on the bed beside him. Groaned from the sharp pain he felt when he touched his broken nose. Standing in front of the large mirror, he gazed at his reflection—at the blotches that covered his face. He was unimpressed at how baggy his eyes looked. Hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately. 

He observed several welts and cuts across his body. For a moment, he stared blankly at his reflection, then shut his eyes. Hairs slowly began to sprout from his body until they became fur. His nails grew longer until they became claws, and his body grew larger and more muscular.

And when he opened his eyes, they were deeply coloured red. His pupils were heavily dilated. Long fangs poked his lips, and a tail sprung behind his back. He was now a transformed animal. He stood in front of the mirror, staring at what he’d become—sharp fangs, sharp claws, and deeply coloured eyes. He was no longer human. Kevin looked over the cuts and sores on his body and saw that the animal furs had concealed them all. 

Slowly, the hair grew back inside until the fur completely disappeared from his skin. His nails became smaller, and his eyes returned to normal. He turned to gaze at his reflection in the mirror; he was human again. All the bruises, sores and cuts on his skin had completely vanished with the furs that’d earlier covered his body. 

He ran his hands over his smooth skin and over his face—where the bruises had been before. Behind him, the pewter door scraped open, and his eyes moved to the corner. He knew someone was standing behind. “How long have you been standing there?” He spoke without a backward glance at the human-like figure behind.

He heard the door closing behind him. “I heard the door open,” Cedric uttered. “I thought someone had broken in—so I had to check.”

He turned to see Cedric standing in the doorway, holding up a lamp. Cedric reached for something in his pocket. “I want you to have this.” He took out some pills and tossed them to him.

Kevin caught the pills in mid-air and examined them. “What’s this?”

“Something that might help with your sleeping troubles.”

“A sleeping pill?” 

“Not exactly a sleeping pill, but it should help you sleep better.” Cedric took a glass sitting on the table close beside him and poured water into it, then gave it to him. “Here, Drink up.” 

Kevin took the glass from him, threw some of the pills into his mouth, then drank some water and swallowed. Cedric smiled as he reached for the door. “Have a good night’s rest, and see you in the morning.” He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Kevin sighed heavily and, exhausted after a long day, flopped down on the single bed. Staring out the open window, he gazed upon the tree outside. Its branches waved as the wind blew. His brows drew together when he suddenly noticed something off about it and quickly got up, walked to the window, and moved the curtain to the side.

Kevin jolted in surprise when he recognized the big oak tree sitting outside his window. He quickly reached for his drawer, and opening it, he pulled out his drawings and scattered them on the table beside him. He singled out a drawing from the rest and studied it carefully. On it was the drawing of blackbirds sitting on an oak tree. Carefully studying the drawing closely, he returned his gaze to the tree sitting outside. 

It has always been here, the tree from my dream, he mouthed, his eyes widening. How have I not noticed this up until now?