Detective Z

T.W: Death, Blood, Needles, Self-Injurious Behavior, mentions Pedophilia, Abuse, Suicide, Depiction of Pornography, Mental Illness, Rape and Sexual Assault, Animal cruelty

1994, Mystiko, Phronesis

“Come on out kid!” The disfigured 10-foot-tall monster yelled towards to me. As I dashed into my grandmother room, desperately looking for a spot to hide.

“Come out, little one.” The grotesque, towering creature taunted as I cowered inside a closet upstairs, my heart hammering fiercely in my chest.

“Hurry up; time’s running out! I’m starving for your blood,” it bellowed impatiently while ascending the stairs with menacing steps.

“How strange that you don’t use that exceptional Zoe of yours. It’s simply delicious! So much untapped potential I feel.” The monster’s voice grew closer and closer until it abruptly ceased. The silence was so deafening that I started to believe it had left. With my body slick with sweat and trembling from fear, I cautiously breathed out and closed my eyes to regain my composure.

“You’re safe... This is just a nightmare,” I whispered to myself under labored breaths. A faint creaking sound pierced the silence like a knife.

Panicked, I opened my eyes.

“What do we have here? A tantalizing banquet! Perhaps more of an appetizer than an entrée?” The abomination oozed malevolence as its hunger intensified.

“Once I’ve devoured you whole, I’ll retrieve what the boss desires and be on my way.” The monster’s mouth contorted grotesquely as innumerable rows of razor-sharp teeth were revealed before lunging forward for the final bite.

Never did I imagine that this would be how my life concluded. But one thing life has taught me is the world’s cruel unpredictability; there are no fair endings in this unjust world. Resigned to my fate, I shut my eyes tight and awaited death’s embrace. As blood splattered onto me, I braced for immense pain. But to my surprise, the agony never came.

“Hey, open your eyes, I’m here to help.” A voice said to me while my eyes were closed. So, then I opened my eyes and saw wolf standing on two legs. A wolf human, say to speak.

“See, I’m a good guy.” The wolf-human said.

“Move out the way you don’t look like a good guy!” Another man’s voice said pushing the wolf-human out the way.

“Oh dear, he’s so young too! Hi, I’m Alfred and we’re here to save you. I saw the woman on the floor out there, is she your mom?”

“No. She is my grandma, and she takes care of me.” I could barley scrape the words out my mouth as fear still pumping inside my body makes it ever so difficult to even bellow the words out.

"Do you know where you're parents are? Are they alive? Or another place to redirect you?"

I shook my head,

“I’m sorry for your loss. I’m afraid I can’t bring your grandma back to life; however, I can provide you with a family of some sort. If you want to trust me that is?” The man said, putting his hand out to me.

“I guess I have nowhere else to go. Yeah, I want to join you!” I said, putting his hand in accepting the offer.

“Young boy, how can you be so sure we’re good guys? What if were planning to kill you or something along those lines?” The wolf human said all of a sudden with a creepy tone.

“I have nowhere else to go. I’m taking my chances to the self-proclaimed good guys who saved my life.” I said trying to at least seem strong.

“I like this one Alf, let me teach him everything!” The wolf-human said again in a very creepy tone.

“Calm down, let’s get back to H.Q first. I want him to make a decision based on what we tell him there.” Alfred said to him.

“You’re no fun Alf! Alright, let’s go to H.Q! Come on young boy! Also, what’s your name? Mine is Apollo!”

“My name is... Z! My name is Z! No last name.”

“Alright Z with no last name let’s go!” With that Apollo used some sort of device and to contact the police and we started our way to their home I assume.

“So, Z,” Apollo said to him “Not to make you remember something you don’t but, mind telling us what happened?”

“I can. I was with my grandma eating dinner...”

“Here you go, one slice of steak for you, hope you like i-”

“Grandma, please. I see you given me the bigger half. I’m fine, it’s you who should have the bigger piece!”

“Nonsense, you’re a growing boy!”

“I know that ever since Pete left getting food has been hard. I know that.”

“Well even if you know that wouldn’t change anything.”

“It does. It helps me see things I couldn’t before, like you giving me a bigger piece. I know we only eat at dinner because it’s the only thing we could afford. Maybe if I started to wor-”

“Stop right there young man! I don’t want this discussion to go any further! Please.”

“I just want to help.”

“I know but for now... Oh my, I think it’s time!”

“You’re finally growing into a fine man, a fine man your father would love to see.” Grandmother said has she walked into a room that I was told to stay out of, and she came back with a box.

“These we’re your fathers before he passed away. It’s time you learned about you’re past and history.”

“My past and history?”

“Yes, it’s ti-”

“Knock, Knock? Any little piggies home? Moros isn’t happy.”

“Grandma who that?”

“Oh dear, it’s come back to me! The past has finally made its way here! I’m not even a fraction of my strength! Z, Dear! I need you to hide! Hide now!”

“Alright! Since nobody coming to the door, I guess I’ll just break in!”

“Run!”

“What do we have here? A little boy and their mother, this should be fun. I’ll start with the since so I can the little one for later.”

“I won’t let you touch him! Specialty Zo- ”

“No No No. No Zoe using here! Now then, let’s see what happens when you continue to twist a human arm past it’s breaking point.”

“Z, Run! Leave!”

“I- I-”

“Ahh! Please somebody! Somebody save us! Ahh!”

“Here we go, a full tear of your arm! It came right off. Your blood oozing everywhere and your screams are getting louder and louder. Let’s see how strong your leg is, I’ll just keep twisting and twisting and... Here we go I dislocated your leg, now I can rip it out of your body. Are you ready? Counting down from three!”

“Z! Please run!”

“3!”

“Ahh! Somebody please help us!”

“Grandma!”

“2”

“Cover your eyes and run! Run!”

“I don’t want to leave you! You’re all I have!”

“1”

“Survive!”

“Grandma!”

“Here we go and pull!”

“Ahh! Somebody!”

“Wow, it came straight off! Let’s see how good your arm and leg taste!”

Why, why am I watching? Watching my grandma being eaten limb by limb? I need to run, but my feet won’t move. I can’t move a single bone. Run you fool... Why can’t you run!?

“You sure are delicious! Now I’m going to just rip out all your limbs, that way I can take out all your bones and eat only your meat and flesh! It’ll be like eating fish! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“...”

“No more screaming? Poor shame, I was getting amused by that! Thinking that their someone in the area that can help you! Don’t you understand? There are millions of us!”

Why? Why does this happen? Why does someone who so sweet, so nice have to die? Why? Stop asking stupid questions, you know why... In a world that is naturally unfair, you’re bound to be unlucky. There’s no such thing has an unfair life or death in an unfair world. You know that, you know that! Then why does this feel so, unfair! Why? Why? Wh-

“Delicious! Now for the best part. To stab right through her body..."

Stop. Please stop.

“and grab her heart! This is going to be so good!”

Run. You need to run Z! Run!

“That did not disappoint! Every single bite! I need to do this more often! Now, where’s my desert?”

Move your legs Z!

“Run!”

“Oh, you finally taken her advice huh? Well go and get yourself ready up those stairs I’ll be there to eat you soon!”

Find a place! Find a place! Find a place! Where’s a place you know works really well!? The closet! Grandma never found me in the closet! That’s the perfect place! Is it? I can’t even think! Grandma! Why did have to be her not me!? Why? Why?

“Z?”

Why!? Why!?

“Z!?”

“Why Wh-”

“Z, you don’t have to explain right now! It’s okay, It’s not important anyways!” Some man said

“What.” I’m not inside my grandmother house? Wasn’t I just about to hide in the closet again? Again? Why am I thinking again?

" It’s okay, you’ll never go through something like that again.” Another man said with white hair. Dropping down in front of my face and whipping water from my eyes. Was I crying? I don’t even remember crying. What is going o-

No, I remember now. I was supposed to explain what happened. All those events already happened. My grandma is already dead, and I watched it happen. I’m with Apollo and Alfred.

“I- I just stood.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I still just stood there! I stood there and watched it happen, someone I cared for died right in front of my eyes and I just watched. I watched that monster tear apart and eat my grandma limb from limb, hearing her screams of help and pain! The blood was everywhere, her guts being thrown out or eaten as soon has he grabbed it from her lifeless corspe! I- I could feel her pain! But since I’m so useless I couldn’t do a thing to save her! I’m so frustrated with myself, if only I did something she could still be alive!” I felt so sick, all I could do is clutch my stomach just from explaining it like I was going to puke.

“Don’t blame yourself, kid!” Those words brought me back out of my thoughts. I didn’t realize how much tears I had going down my face, I forgot I was even walking. It feels like I’m still there, watching. I must have sounded crazy; they probably won’t like me anyways because I know I’m not liked by a lot. Once we make it to a new city, they’ll probably just run away from me.

“There nothing you could have done to that monster! Don’t go crazy over something you couldn’t prevent. That guilt can ruin your life, your grandma didn’t save you for you to grive, she saved you so you can live a longer and happier life. The only time she dies is when you lose the joy she tried to protect.” Apollo said his tone changing for the first time. Does he feel guilty for me?

“Sorry,”

“Don’t be. However, I want to make sure. You’re really want to come with us?” Alfred said again looking at me with kind eyes, the same my grandmother use to give me.

“I do.”

“Nice! I can teach you how to defend yourself and protect others so you can never be put in that same situation again.” Apollo said rubbing my head.

“I, I want to learn; I want to learn to become strong. I want to be so strong that I never quake in fear again, that I never have to sit and watch. I don’t want to lose someone again...”

“Alright you two we have a long way back, so let’s pick up the speed and hurry this up.” Alfred said with a sniffle in between his words.

“Are you crying Alfred?”

“N- No.” Alfred said with a sniffle in between that as well.

“Leaders never cry.”

“Ha, that’s such a lie.”

“No more chatter out of you wolf boy!” Alfred said to him.

“We just started this walk and I’m already on the couch!?”

“Yes!”

Them arguing the way they did, was funny. If I wasn’t in a total distress, I would have laughed, I know I would of. I honestly forgot how to laugh; I forgot when I lost them.

CHAPTER 1: Friends - 1