《The Preying City》Warning (3)
Advertisement
Amelia walked around the slum once again. Joe was accompanying her just in case anything happened. He couldn't help her even if she was possessed once again but just his presence put her heart at ease.
Today was the third day she was doing this already. Joe's idea really worked. She had recovered all her memories yesterday. But the dialogues Mr. Secret shared with the one who had possessed her had been strangely muted. She had come today in hopes that she could recall the conversation. Unfortunately it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
But her actions weren't fruitless. Judging by the actions and body language of the two in her memory, they had come into an understanding at the end. With how she had settled the angry Mr. Secret, she could conclude that he had been offered something which he couldn't resist.
The only thing that she still couldn't figure out was why it was her who was possessed. If the objective of the hidden party was to contact Mr. Secret, they could have done it by possessing anyone else. Even possessing the private investigator would have been much more easier. She could tell that he was a normal human who would be a lot easier to influence. Besides, he also had contact with Mr. Secret already.
She really wished that she could share her experience with someone and get their input on it. Joe was right beside her but she didn't dare do it. If she spoke unnecessarily, he could also get embroiled in this situation and she didn't want that. As much as it sucked, she would have to push through by herself until she figured out enough.
The bread in her hands was almost all gone and she just needed to find some more homeless people. The brooch wasn't going to help anymore and she didn't want to waste her efforts.
Advertisement
Joe was following behind her. His mouth opened wide as he let out a yawn. He looked tired and had some bags under his eyes. Just as she was about to ask what he had been up to last night, a starving man approached them. He stood still and took a good look at the duo.
The man confirmed that these two were indeed the one he needed to leave the warning to. "Miss Amelia Pears?"
Amelia was shocked. Not even Big Joe knew her name. He could have easily figured it out if he dug around. She would tell him if he asked but he hadn't and she didn't feel it necessary. A starving man in the slums wouldn't know her name. She was sure that this was their first meeting. "Yes.... That's me. What business do you have with me?"
"Do not look for your jade hairpin and you won't have a similar experience again. Whatever you learnt of that night, keep them to yourself. If you don't go looking for trouble, trouble won't find you."
The man quickly turned around and walked away. Joe immediately moved to give chase but was stopped by the girl.
"What is it? He might know something. Don't you want to know about it? It's a clue right in front of us." Joe asked back a little worked up.
"No, the man said not to go looking for trouble. His words have already given me a clue. Whatever happened to me happened because of the jade hairpin. I hadn't thought of that because I had locked it away after you and Mr. Secret warned me. I feel relieved now. The loss of 2500 pounds does hurt but I can handle it."
Joe was disgruntled but he let it go. He could understand that she was genuinely scared. "Fine. But I will never be able to understand how you rich people think. I would gladly risk my life for 2500 pounds."
Advertisement
She just smiled at him. Joe felt a little awkward as well.
'Maybe I shouldn't have made that comment. Well whatever, what's done is done. Let me just change the topic.'
"Do you think the hairpin was something special? If a supernatural like you was possessed without even you realizing it, the possessor should be at least a grade 3. I would say he is likely to be even higher. For them to come after it personally, it must hold some good value."
"I don't know. I am just happy to be rid of it." Amelia handed the rest of the food to Joe and hopped away cheerily.
*****
Elias returned to his office after confirming that the warning had been delivered. Done with all the task he had been entrusted, he let out a sigh of relief. He had been tailing the young woman for three days and he was scared at every moment around her. She had led him and the doctor to the mansion previously and he could never be sure if she would do such a thing again.
He couldn't help but ask himself if following the woman was safe at all. Even if he hadn't witnessed the madness that had ensued after he was knocked out, he had still seen the violent fight in the ring. Besides, he could still infer some things after looking at the aftermath. It was a scary world and he didn't know how to cope with this new fear that haunted him.
The new investigator had some sandwich as he read the day's newspaper. He had missed the previous two days issues as well and he planned on catching up right now. The office wouldn't be seeing any clients anyways. Information was valuable, specially for someone in his trade. You could never tell what would come in handy.
His intention was to unwind and relax as he read the paper. Unfortunately for him, several of the headlines caught his attention. The contents described crimes of peculiar natures and phenomenon that couldn't be described as normal. He would have normally skimmed over them and gradually forget about it. But after learning of the supernaturals, he couldn't help but link these to them.
Just the incidents that couldn't be covered up by the authorities numbered this many in a daily basis. He couldn't even begin to imagine how many more cases were never discovered or buried under the rugs. There also had to be heaps more which weren't worth the news. Without him noticing, it was almost sundown.
Just like how he had done it for the past few days. He hid his worries and fear under the mask of his smile. Locking the door, he headed for his home where his family would be waiting for him. In this scary world, it was the only place which could give him peace of mind.
Advertisement
- In Serial30 Chapters
The Madec Legacy
The dawn of Emotion Based A.I.s is here, John is the fifth test subject to have an AI implemented in his brain, and so far the first one to survive. Blinded by the dream of immortality, the researchers push the tests to inhumane standards. John is obligated to take part in sessions of torture designed to test the limits of the AI influence over the physical and mental health. What was supposed to be a new beginning in life turns into living hell. An (un)lucky twist ends his life. John then reincarnates with his AI in a new world where a System influences the interaction between Magic and Matter. With seemingly limitless potential and a game-like system influencing the world, the hero sets on his journey. --AUTHOR NOTE, PLEASE READ-- I will state here my promises to you, potential reader: 1. No harem! I don't trust myself to make a harem feel natural or healthy, I never met any person who has a personality that can adapt and live in a harem for reasons that are not monetary, so I can't draw inspiration from real life. Sorry!; 2. The enemies will not be bland and illogically mean. Some may feel like that at first, but I will take great care in fleshing them out, trust me. You may end up hating some, but you won't be able to deny that they had their reasons for what they did; 3. I am using a paid (and expensive) automated editor tool, and I take longer to write because I take my time in editing the stuff. I am aiming to improve and I will not shy away from constructive criticism, nor take offense for no reason; 4. Characters will die and will suffer, some will get over the tragedies and improve, others will not be as resilient. 5. This novel has a lot of ground to cover, it is neither a short story, a manual on crafting, or the script of some action scene. There will be both time skips and oversimplifications of some actions for the sake of moving the story forward. Time skips will be more prominent in the first 30 chapters. I will describe crafting processes and fights with more detail if they are essential for the chapter; 6. If I took my time describing something, it's because it is important. I hate novels that waste time describing useless stuff. If you skim over something, the chances are that something in the future will not make sense. I am an adept of "Chekhov's gun" principle; 7. I already have 31k words on my auxiliary documents, I have a plan for the story, and I will not be making changes even if someone ends up noticing some foreshadowing and figures out what will happen. The story comes first. 8. I have a wife, a job that demands 9h every day and courses related to my job (lawyer) three days of the week, it's unlikely that I will be able to do mass releases at all. I will have a healthy amount of chapters to be able to post at least 1 chapter every day continually. Don't worry. 9. I will read all the comments. I will listen to all you have to say and will try my best to accommodate demands as long as they do not hamper the path I prepared. 10. There is an arc that spans the entire novel. Each volume will be an arc in itself while progressing a little bit of the main arc. Every arc will have one or more main antagonists. I think that's it! Thank you for reading it all. Have an awesome time reading my first novel!!
8 115 - In Serial22 Chapters
The Echelon Tower
Our MC is one the people that were able to quickly get their hands on the newest VR technology, the Phantasm. However, the headset turned out to be a trap which teleported all of humanity to a different world! Jonathan now has to survive in a place were death is the only thing that will keep you company for long. He will have to battle through the ruthlessness of men and the viciousness of nature as he discovers the secrets within his body... AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am intending to rewritte the entire story since I am not satisfied with what I have outpouted. Sorry for the low quality. Volume 1: Blood Settlment Volume 2: Azin Seighart (Unreleased) Volume 3: Joining the Echelon (Unreleased)
8 91 - In Serial7 Chapters
Warhost of the Returned
Casimir Voreband is a father of three children, husband of a loving wife, former mentor to a minor rising star, and a beloved friend to many. Casimir Voreband is the unremarkable man with unremarkable life of little major significance. Death has come. That is the life he wanted to live. Death has passed. For even death may die, and with strange eons, returns that which with death, should eternally lie. For by the Warmaster’s will, death is only the start. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 85 - In Serial40 Chapters
lover • sapnap x oc
a wrong number situation mixed with a girl who believes in the smallest of cliches, with no exception to her own situation. sapnap! wrong number book! slow burn! what else could you want! ! any tw are formatted like this at the start of the correlating chapter (w the exclamation marks) !if sapnap says he is uncomfortable w this i will take it down !im gonna attempt to do regular updates once i pass my pre-written chapters but i am a student who works 5 days a week on top of school so bare w me LMAO
8 212 - In Serial711 Chapters
After the End: Serenity
We all want to believe we are heroes of our own story - unless we want to be the villain, of course. At the end of everything, the Final Reaper decided he hadn’t been a hero. Driven by a desire to right the wrongs he was subjected to, he killed everyone who wronged him or his people - which turned out to be everyone that wasn’t killed by someone else first. He'd won - but it was a hollow victory. Eventually, Order’s Voice found a way out. If the only existing being would agree to give up most of his power, the Voice could reset the multiverse to an earlier time with a few minor changes. Of course, the Voice couldn't ask it that way. It could only ask if the Final Reaper was willing to start over from when Earth was first brought into Order. It was an easy decision, and yet it wasn’t. Was he willing to go through eons of pain again to not be alone? Yes. In a heartbeat. Not that his heart beat anymore. Now it would. Perhaps he could even be a hero, this time. When he landed in his old body - more or less - on Earth, the Final Reaper once again became Thomas. He was both and neither. He needed a new name for a new life. Serenity. ------------------------------------------ While this is technically a System Apocalypse story, it's a System Apocalypse that is designed to have a large percentage of the population survive and prosper. There are a lot of problems that come with the appearance of the Voice, and it's entirely possible to lose. Earth has some special opportunities, but also special challenges. The first time around, Earth won the first round and lost the second. Serenity has ten years from when the Voice arrives to prevent that from happening. It will be a group effort; Serenity can't win alone - which is difficult for someone who's been alone for as long as he has. Of course, that's only his second priority. ------------------------------------------- Updates Daily A note on the nonhuman lead tag: He isn't human, and hasn't been human for a very, very long time (or maybe not long at all, depending on how you count it). He still thinks of himself as human, either way. The content warnings are mostly to give me room to write; this fiction is not intended to be edgy, but once in a while a character will swear or someone will get seriously injured. The cover image is a Chandra/Hubble composite image of VV 340 / Arp 302 / UGC 9618. While we're not going to space itself any time soon in the story, people from elsewhere are coming to Earth and Serenity will visit other planets. Plus, I like space imagery. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 509 - In Serial14 Chapters
Before Beasts, There Was Metal--Book 5
Just before Tala moves in with Kai, he sends a warning to flee. The leftovers of Cain's plan is about to plunge Japan into nuclear warfare. That's easier said than done when you and the girl you love have huge, useless wings and are essentially hunted, bit-beast creating aliens. Life was so much easier when all he had to worry about was his past as a Beyblade assassin. (Summary of previous books inside)
8 209

