Night Patrol
Night Patrol
The Night Hawks patrol London at night. Nathan and Daniel began their shift.
“Anything we’re looking for tonight?” Nathan asked.
“The usual,” Daniel said. His young partner knew by now that wasn’t the case. In fact, he counted on it tonight.
“Downtown again?” he asked.
“Yep,” Daniel said. “Let’s go.” The men began to their patrol.
You would think that London around two in the morning would be pretty dead. Well, you would be surprised. There had been rumoring of activity downtown.
“Remember to call in anything you see,” Daniel said.
“Right,” Nathan said. He had his hands to his phone and his pistol. They would not have the pleasure of music to fill the silence. Hunters needed their eyes and ears open. So far, there was nothing in sight. Nathan didn’t get his hopes up. They didn’t have an “easy” night. Lately, it had getting worse.
“Hey, Daniel,” Nathan said.
“Yeah?” his partner asked.
“Yeah?” the other man asked. Nathan took a moment to think about what he was going to say.
“What does wartime situation mean?” he asked.
“Exactly what it means,” Daniel said.
“Are we going to be in wartime?” Nathan asked. His partner didn’t speak at first.
“I am hoping not,” he said. That was more to himself than Nathan. Daniel had seen the signs too often.
Suddenly, he froze.
“Shhh,” Daniel whispered.
“What?” Nathan whispered back. His partner held up his hand and looked down the empty street. Both men took a listen. There’s nothing at first. Nathan held his breath.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“What’s is that?” Nathan mouthed.
“Shhh,” Daniel whispered. He took out his knife. He cleared his throat.
“Oi!” the hunter shouted. “We know you are out here. Come out and show yourself.” The tapping randomly stopped. Daniel took a closer listen.
Tap. Tap. Tap, Tap.
It sounded like it was walking away from there. Nathan had his knife off too.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound was moving away from them. The men looked at each other. The tapping was inviting them to run after it. Could be a trap.
“Go on three?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah,” Nathan said.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“One,” Daniel said.
“Two,” Nathan said. The men held out their knives. They looked at each other for a moment.
“Three!” the men shouted. They took off running towards the tapping sound. It was then they noticed something was off. Were those… footsteps?
“There!” Nathan yelled as he pointed forward.
“What?” Daniel asked as he turned his head. A figure started to take form up ahead of them. Cuts started to form on her pale skin. That’s right. This figure was looking like a girl from behind. Cut formed on the back of her legs, but no blood came out. The men could see her scar-covered body through her small white dress.
“Come back here!” Daniel shouted. He ran forward and grabbed the girl by her shoulder.
“Wait!” Nathan shouted. The other man had already grabbed her. The child turned around. It felt like the world had stopped. Daniel felt something pulsing through his body. The child slowly turned her head.
“Dan!” Nathan shouted as he ran to catch up. He froze in his tracks.
“What… Is that?” he asked. The girl’s mouth was stitched closed with black threads and she had large black eyes. Daniel let go of her shoulder. That child didn’t react. Nathan took out his phone and took a picture.
“What are you?” Daniel asked. The child floated off the ground. Her hair floated around her head. More cuts formed around her body. A ripping sound came from her mouth. Drips of blood ran down her mouth.
“No,” Daniel said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small bottle of salt water. The man opened and splashed it on the little girl. Daniel and Nathan began to chanting rapidly. Suddenly, the girl closed her mouth. The stitching came back into place. The cuts closed up on her little body. The child slowly landed on the ground. She stared up at him with those empty black eyes. Daniel pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen. Nathan looked with him as the profile popped up on the screen. It didn’t take him long to put the pieces together.
“Is it her?” he asked. Daniel looked up at the girl as the cuts all disappeared on her pale body.
“We’ve got to take her back to the office,” he said.
“Right,” Nathan said. He and Daniel pulled out the clear ropes. The girl with the sewn up mouth didn’t move as they her hands behind her back. The men didn’t speak as they picked her up and carried her off with them.
She wasn’t going to be the only one.
