“Here we are. Home sweet...apartment complex” Sarah joked as she and Akane stood in front of a small apartment complex 15 minutes’ walking distance from the park. The complex was situated in front of an intersection of two roads and was surprisingly tall. It had about 5 floors and had a white and red color scheme.. The roof was colored dark red and the walls were white but because of the red dust that covered the entire town they were more of a reddish white color. The complex also contrasted heavily with the nearby buildings. The other buildings appeared derelict while the complex appeared well kept.

“That is not the phrase” Akane corrected, completely missing the joke.

“I-I know Ms. Akane. That was an attempt at levity”

“I see.”

Sarah paused wondering if Akane was going to follow up on that statement. She didn’t.

“Ugh...let’s head in shall we? Are you well enough to walk up a few stairs?”

“That seems time consuming. It’d be quicker if I jump onto the roof and walk down a few stairs instead.”

“N-no don’t do that. I don't want your wounds to get worse. Just follow me ok?” Sarah pleaded.

“Very well. Just know a faster alternative was available”.

Sarah nodded in agreement and the two headed inside. They were in a main lobby of sorts that had the same color scheme of the building outside. There was a red carpet on the ground, red couches, and a red desk at the far end of the lobby. The walls and ground were white, without the tinge of red like the outside. Instead of going to the front desk Sarah veered to the right heading to a door that was labeled “stairs”. They went through and started to walk up a red stairway.

After going up about three flights of stairs Sarah opened a door leading Akane to a hallway that was decorated with red and black carpeting. Sarah walked down to the left end of the hallway. She stopped in front of the door and reached into her pockets trying to find something.

“Come on...don’t tell me I dropped them back there” she muttered to herself.

“What’s wrong?” Akane asked.

“I’m trying to find my keys. Ugh I can’t believe this.”

“Do you want me to break the door down?”

“Huh? No, please don’t do that Ms. Akane.”

“Sarah that you?” a voice called out to them.

They looked back and saw an old dwarf approaching them. They had a large white beard, circular glasses, and walked with a cane. They appeared to be wearing a white shawl robe looking like they just returned from a trip to the sauna.

“Hello Mr. Kurgan.” Sarah greeted.

“Oh no need to be so formal with me Sarah I told you that. Call me Ungrim, we’re definitely on a first name basis now. What seems to be the problem?”

“It appears I’ve lost my keys.”

“Oh well that’s no good. Hold on, I'll get the door for you. Can’t treat a patient in the hallway can you?”

The old dwarf went up to the door and took out a key. He put it into the slot which unlocked it.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Kurgan.”

“Sarah I’m supposed to do this, I’m your landlord. Besides, it's the least I could do after you treated me for my broken leg.”

“How is your leg?”

“It hurts a bit but it’ll heal. If those masked bastards wanted to do real damage they should’ve tried harder. That’s the thing about us dwarves, we’re really sturdy.”

“That’s good to hear Mr. Kurgan. Thank you for your help.”

“Like I said, it's no problem. I’ll also get started on getting you another key. And you miss you’re about to get the best possible care from Sarah here. She’s the best nurse in this town, so good we don’t even need that hospital.” the dwarf stated, addressing Akane.

“I see. Do many non-humans come here for medical care?” Akane questioned.

“Many? You must be new here. Every species that isn’t human comes to Sarah for care. If it wasn’t for her who knows what would happen. Maybe this town would be all human like those bastards want. Wait a minute, you’re human, why're you here?” Kurgan questioned back.

“I owe her.” Sarah answered for Akane.

“Hmm you must’ve done something quite important for Sarah then.”

“You could say that.”

“Well I’ll leave you to it. Have a good day Sarah.”

“You too Mr. Kurgan”

“Sarah I told you to call me….you know what you can call me whatever you want. Have a good day.” The dwarf said.

He turned round and began to head back.

“I didn’t know you were so popular.” Akane remarked.

“Popular with non-humans, hated by my own kind.” Sarah reflected as she entered her apartment.

The first thing Akane noticed about the apartment was that it didn’t follow the color scheme she had seen till now. Instead of red and white the apartment was mostly green and brown. The ground had a brown carpeting excluding the kitchen in the back which had white tiles. Most of the space they were in was a living room with a large green couch and a coffee table situated in front of a radio set up on a table. Right next to it was an old record player. To Akane’s right and left were hallways that led to what appeared to be bedrooms.

“Sophie mommy’s back! I brought a patient!” Sarah called out.

“Mommy!” a young voice responded from the left bedroom followed by the sound of footsteps.

The door opened and a little girl ran up to Sarah and hugged her leg tightly.

“Mommy!” the girl exclaimed again.

The girl wore a light blue dress decorated with black ribbons. She was barefoot and had a blue bow in her hair. Said hair was light brown and extremely long, poofy, and curly.

“Were you playing dress up again?” Sarah asked with a warm smile.

“Yeah!” the girl enthusiastically affirmed.

“That’s nice. Can you help mommy get set up in the kitchen real quick?”

“Yeah!”

“Akane, this is my daughter Sophie. Say hi Sophie.”

The girl stopped hugging her mother’s leg and looked up at Akane with bright blue eyes.

“Hello!” she greeted.

Akane stared intently at the girl. Looking at the small child overwhelmed Akane with an emotion she had never felt before. It was a strange bubbling sensation inside her chest that wanted to burst forth.

“HRRRGGGHHHHHHH!” Akane said as she clutched her chest and fell over.

“Oh my goodness it’s worse than I thought! Sophie go get mommy’s medicines out.”

“Ok mommy!” the girl responded as she made a beeline for the kitchen.

Sarah picked Akane up and, struggling greatly, carried her to the kitchen where she placed her on a large rectangular table. Her daughter had already set up medical potions along the kitchen counter. Sarah picked one up and was about to administer it when Akane shot up.

“I’m fine” she dead panned.

“Ah!” Sarah bellowed as she jumped back in shock.

“Akane, are you? What just happened? How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine. I’m not sure….what happened”

Akane looked around the kitchen until her eyes locked with the little girl again.

“HRRRGGGHHHHHH!” Akane said, falling down once more, this time on her knees and remaining conscious.

“Ms. Akane!”

“The child. It’s the child. She must have a gift. Everytime I look at her, I keel over. I’ve never encountered such a power.”

“Ms. Akane, she's just a normal child.”

“I’m sorry sword lady. I don’t want to hurt you.” Sophie said.

Akane looked up and saw the little girl standing before her. A new urge afflicted Akane, one that she satiated by grabbing the little girl and giving her a hug that was way too tight.

“I don’t why but I have a desire to hold this child.” Akane announced.

“Mommy help!” Sophie tried to yell, her voice hardly audible due to being squeezed.

“Akane let go!” Sarah commanded, trying to free her daughter.

After much effort little Sophie was finally free from Akane’s clutches. However once she was free Akane started to slowly raise her arms again, preparing to give the child another hug.

“Sophie, go to your room!” Sarah ordered, pushing Akane’s arms back down.

“Ahhhhhh!” the little girl screamed as she ran back to her bedroom.

“Akane, what is wrong with you?” Sarah angrily asked.

“I told you it’s the child. She has a power over me and it's getting worse. I have this strong urge now to protect her from the world and kill anyone who gets too close. I also want to squeeze her until they explode.”

“What? Wait a minute...ohhhh I think I know what it is. That’s your motherly instincts kicking in.”

“The girl...is now my child?”

“No. That’s not how that works. I mean you find her extremely adorable so you want to protect her. People get a similar feeling when they see a cute dog or cat but I think it’s strongest in parents. That’s a relief, I was worried it was a psychological effect from your fight. Which reminds me I gotta treat you, please sit on the table Ms. Akane.”

Akane does as told but was a bit confused by the explanation. She had never found something adorable before. Such emotions were drilled out of her when she was a child. Or so she thought. Sarah took out a stethoscope from a nearby kitchen drawer and began to examine Akane thoroughly.

“I’m surprised your breathing is normal. I would've thought you’d be wheezing because of your last fight.” Sarah reported.

She examined Akane’s chest area.

“I could’ve sworn you had broken ribs.”

“They healed already. I heal fast.” Akane declared.

Sarah decided to examine other parts of Akane’s body.

“The child. Is she the one the men in the park referred to?” Akane asked as Sarah looked at her back.

“Oh...yeah.”

“She truly is half elf?”

“Yes. Yes she is.”

“That’s surprising. She looks completely human”

“You must not have been paying close attention Ms. Akane. It’s in her ears. They’re a combination of a human’s and an elf’s. You know how elves have those pointy ears? It must be a dominant trait because when they mix with human DNA the offspring gets oval shaped ears. That’s what happened to Sophie.”

“Hmmm. It’s not obvious. Couldn’t you just say she has a rare gene that makes her ears look like that?”

“That could probably work in another town. But this town is too small and the people pay too close attention, especially given the presence of the Humanity Defense Front. They’ve made everyone be on the lookout for any ‘crimes against humanity’ which to them includes my daughter existing. I was able to hide the fact she was half elf for the longest time until recently. If I had to guess they had one of their people watching my house and noticed Sophie’s ears when I took her out one time. They already didn’t like me for giving care to non-humans so I suppose that discovery made me a prime target.”

“They truly are fools. Why do you live here? Other states are more tolerant than Atrad.”

“I can’t afford to live anywhere else. The cost of living in the other states is simply too high.”

“This apartment seems quite expensive. You appear quite wealthy.”

The statement made Sarah chuckle.

“Yeah I guess that’s how it looks doesn’t it? I may be a nurse but I really don’t make that much. I don’t even pay the rent to live here. My husband does.”

“I’m surprised an elf-human couple lives in this town. Where is your husband?”

“Oh he doesn’t live here. He works for one of those elven banks that are opening up more and more branches in the border states. He was tasked with opening one up in Redrock and that’s how we met. Stuff happened and he had to move away because of his job. Now he pays the rent to help me take care of Sophie. ”

“He didn’t take his wife and daughter with him?” Akane asked in a mixture of surprise and anger.

“Ms. Akane elf-human relationships aren’t supported by either humans or elves. It would’ve caused a scandal for him and he would’ve lost everything if his superiors found out.”

“Hmmm.”

“Do not worry Ms. Akane. Sophie and I are perfectly happy the way we are. Do I wish Sophie was able to live a normal life? Of course I do but I’m making the best out of a bad situation.”

“But aren’t you still a target?”

“I am but I can’t exactly do anything about it.”

“How about contacting the authorities?”

“If only. The sheriff is a good man but he can’t take down the Humanity Defense Front alone. If he tried they’d burn the whole town down.”

Sarah abruptly stopped, her eyes widening as she came to a realization.

“Oh Gods and Goddesses since you saved me and killed their men they’re bound to retaliate. I have to go warn the Sheriff. Luckily you were right about your healing fast, you seem perfectly healthy which makes me want to ask you a bunch of questions but I don’t have time. Can you stay here and protect Sophie while I go to the Sheriff’s office? I can’t leave her alone, they know about her now.”

“Of course. I will kill anyone who approaches.”

“Thank you Ms. Akane.”

Sarah made her way to the front door and exclaimed “Sophie mommy’s gotta go back to work she forgot something. I’ll be right back!”

“Ok!” the young girl’s voice hooted back.

Sarah exited the apartment leaving Akane alone in the kitchen.

Akane got off the table and stretched. Despite being in a battle not too long ago she truly was back to her pre-fight condition given her advanced healing. There were still a few bruises here and there but in her experience those always go down in a few hours. She walked across the apartment to Sophie’s room. If she was going to protect Sophie, she’d have to have the girl in her sights.

“Child.” Akane said as she knocked on the bedroom door.

There was no response.

“Child. Child. Child” she said as she knocked some more.

“Are you going to hurt me again, sword lady?” the young girl finally responded.

“No child. Your mother told me to watch you. I’m allowed to hurt everyone but you.”

“Um...ok.”

The door opened and Akane looked down at the small girl. The cuteness was almost too much for Akane. She wanted to hug her immediately but was able to hold back the urge.

“D-do you wanna play with me?”

“Yes.” Akane answered perhaps a bit too quickly and with too much conviction.

Akane entered the girl’s room and was overwhelmed by the color pink. Almost everything in the room was colored pink from the walls to her bed. The floor was littered with toys. Sophie was clearly a spoiled child.

“This is my room.” the girl said with pride.

“It’s nice. It’s very….pink.”

“Yeah! Pink is my favorite color.”

“I prefer black. You should add black.”

“Oh..ok. So what do you wanna play?”

“Whatever game you want, child.”

“Then how about we play block?”

Akane tilted her head in confusion.

“You never played block? Come over here I’ll show you. See this is block.”

Sophie picked up a wooden rectangle that had three shaped holes on the top. They were a square hole, a circle hole, and a triangle hole. On the ground next to her were blocks meant to go through the holes. It was clearly a toy designed to teach young children shapes. It occurred to Akane that Sophie must’ve been very young, about six or seven.

“You take the block. And you put it through the hole like this.” Sophie explained as she put the square block into the square hole.

“And once you put all the shapes in you win.”

Sophie sat on the ground and motioned for Akane to sit next to her.

“What if the square wants to go into the circle hole?” Akane asked, sitting next to Sophie.

“But the square isn’t meant to go through the circle hole.”

“Nonsense child. The square can go through whatever hole it wants. Nothing can stop the square from accomplishing its dreams! Hiyah!” Akane exclaimed as she picked up the square block and jammed it into the hole meant for the circle, breaking the entire thing.

Akane and Sophie stared at the broken toy in front of them.

“You see child? Sometimes we are squares, but we can go through the circle holes anyway.” Akane said, trying to sound inspiring.

“My toy…” Sophie cried.

“Do you want to play another game?”

“....No”

“Then do you have comics to read?”

“Comics?”

“Yes, comics. Wait, are you telling me you do not have comics? Has your mother raised you to be so uncultured?”

“No, I don’t have any. My mommy said those were for boys.”

“Your mother is a good woman but she is flawed. Do not despair, I have memorized the scenes and dialogue for dozens of series. I shall tell you what happens in them all. Get comfortable child, for I’m about to enlighten you.” Akane said as she sprung to her feet getting ready to tell a story.

Sophie got up from the floor and got into her bed like she was about to be told a bedtime story. Akane began to tell the tale of her favorite comic in dramatic fashion, making Sophie hold onto every word for the next few hours.

****

Warren slowly opened his eyes to discover that he was nowhere near his car. The room was almost pitch black if it weren’t for the lights in the hallway. He was in a jail cell and was laying on a steel bench that served as his bed that was aligned against the congress wall. Across from him was a sink with a mirror and to the right of it was a metal toilet. Warren wasn’t surprised by his surroundings as he remembered what happened before he got knocked out. He was surprisingly at ease, most likely because it wasn’t the first time he was locked up. Warren tried to get up but felt a lot of stinging pain throughout his body. His wounds from his last fight hadn’t healed and it appeared that the Sheriff didn’t administer any medicine to him though it was not like he was obligated to do so. Too exhausted to use his ability Warren fought through the pain to sit upright. Now with his back against the wall he started to hear a sound reverberate through the hallway.

“Ack. Ack. Ack” a voice coughed.

Warren got onto his feet and went to the bars of his cell. He peered through to see that his cell was one of many in a concrete hallway. Electric lights in the ceiling illuminated the cobblestone ground.

“Accccckkkkkkkkk. Ugh” the voice coughed again.

The voice sounded like it came directly from the cell across from Warren. He tried to see the cell’s occupant but it was too dark to make out anything.

“Hey you ok?” Warren asked.

“Don’t talk to me, human. Accckkkk hairball” the voice retorted as it sounded like it coughed up something.

Warren realized the voice belonged to the catkin he had just fought.

“You’re ugh...Shin right?”

“It’s Shig you dumb human. I’m not named after a part of the leg.”

“...Right.”

Warren didn’t know what to say next so he went back to his bench and closed his eyes, trying to think of what his next move should be. He knew he couldn’t stay in jail for long yet didn’t want to fight his way out because his jailer was a normal sheriff, nothing like the insane cannibal hillbillies that imprisoned him before. He also thought about Akane but concluded she’d be fine wherever she was.

“So are you happy human? You almost killed me. My head feels like it’s about to explode. How many times did you kick me? And my arm’s still broken!” Shig angrily questioned.

“First off, the name’s Warren. Second, you attacked me, remember?”

“Well yeah you invaded Andrew’s place. You should’ve known better.”

“Uh huh so what are you? Some sort of guard-cat?”

“I’m catkin, not a cat dumb human. But yeah I protect his place. I do that and the humanity defense assholes don’t mess with me. Well that’s how it worked, now that I failed I’m sure I’m getting hanged if I ever leave this place.”

“I was wondering what you meant earlier. Wait, so Andrew is connected to the Humanity Defense Front?”

“Wow...you really don’t know anything. Who are you?”

Warren furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. It was starting to really upset him over how much he didn’t know about Andrew.

“Just a man who wants Andrew dead.”

“You know there’s so many of you guys that you all should form a club. What’d he do to you? Sleep with your girl? Rob you? A combination of the two? I had a guy invade his place for that last one.”

“It’s personal.”

“Heh that must mean one of those is true. I don’t know why you humans care about your mates. Where I’m from you just find one during mating season, do your thing, then forget you ever met them.”

Ignoring Shig’s statements Warren decided now was a good time to go through that journal he acquired from Andrew’s place. He reached into his pockets only to discover it wasn’t there.

“Hey where did that journal I got earlier go?” Warren asked.

“Probably with the Sheriff in the same place he took my sword.”

“What’s in the journal?”

“No idea. All I was told to do was protect Andrew’s stuff.”

“Do you know Andrew?”

“Not personally, I’ve never met him, only heard about him from Roy.”

“Who?”

“One of Andrew’s friends. You must’ve met him in order to find out where the warehouse is.”

“Right.”

Warren became concerned. That journal was his only lead. He might have to break out of the jail cell to get it back, despite disliking the idea of fighting law enforcement.

“You hit really hard human, you know that? Ah, my neck is killing me.” Shig complained.

“If you’re asking for an apology you’re not getting one.” Warren dismissed.

“Seems you two are getting along.” a new voice commented as they heard footsteps approach them.

It was a deep masculine voice. Much deeper than the voice of the sheriff. Shig and Warren poked their heads out of their respective cells to see an orc dressed in the same outfit the sheriff wore with the only exception being that it said “Deputy” on their outfit. The orc was quite big, standing at least 6’5. He had light green skin, piercing yellow eyes, and sharp teeth that looked like it could tear a human in half with one bite.

“Not really Deputy, this outsider is kind of an asshole.” Shig remarked.

“Like you’re much better Shig. Come to me human, put your hands through the bars.” the orc ordered.

Knowing that fighting would get him nowhere Warren put his hands through a little slit that just fit his hands. The orc deputy put handcuffs on and after Warren stepped back opened the jail cell.

“Oh come on don’t tell me someone paid his bail” Shig moaned.

“Nope. Sheriff wants to talk to each of you, figure out what’s happened. Have to figure out who to charge whom with what. The human’s first.”

“Deputy, you can charge me with everything. The longer I stay locked up here the better. You know I can’t go back out there.”

“We’ll figure something out for you, calm down. Now get going human.”

Warren started walking with the large orc trailing behind him. They exited the hallway of jail cells and were now passing something that looked like the office space for police officers. There were desks everywhere yet it was strangely empty. There wasn’t another officer to be seen making the place look abandoned. Warren walked across the empty office to a door labeled “Sheriff”. The orc deputy knocked on the door.

“Sheriff, I brought him.”

“Good, bring him in Tarz.”

The orc opened the door and Warren entered a surprisingly dirty office. There was paper littered across the black and blue carpeted floor. The walls were covered a dark brown and covered with wanted posters. In front of Warren sat a large brown desk. Two windows were situated above the desk which allowed an orange yellowish light to brighten the room. It was late evening, soon about to be night. At the desk sat the Sheriff.

“Tarz, have him sit in that chair.” The Sheriff ordered pointing at a chair situated in front of the desk.

“You heard him.” the orc said behind Warren.

Warren sat down.

“You can leave us.”

“Sure thing Sheriff. Let me know if you need anything.”

The door closed behind Warren letting him know he was alone with the sheriff.

“So...you wanna talk now?” the sheriff asked him.

“Where’s my journal?” Warren inquired.

“Guess you do wanna talk but I’m the one asking questions here son. Why’re you in Redrock Mr. Marshall?”

“How do you know my name?”

“We may be a town in the middle of nowhere but we don’t live in a void. I’m a cop, I can figure things out. Now mind telling me why you immediately started attacking folks?”

Warren hesitated, not sure if he should tell the truth. He decided there was nothing to gain by lying.

“You heard of Andrew?” Warren began.

“Heard of him? The bastard has been a thorn in my side for years. He’s had run-ins with me since he was a kid. If it were up to me he’d be locked up for life if it wasn’t for his uncle. You’re a friend of his?”

“Something like that. I just need to find him. That’s why I went to his place and got into a fight with that catkin who’s apparently tasked with protecting the place.”

“Ok I’m starting to put it together. Seems you got some unresolved issues with Andrew but that’s got nothing to do with me as long as it happens outside of town. Good thing for you because of his uncle’s influence here. If you got in trouble I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“That’s the second time you mentioned his uncle. Who is he?”

“You don’t know? You’re after Andrew but don’t know about James?”

“Nope. Care to enlighten me?”

The sheriff got out of his chair and stared out of a nearby window.

“James Mason is evil incarnate. He founded the Humanity Defense Front chapter here shortly after the war. The group is basically a small army, 550 men strong and growing. I may be the law but ask any citizen here and they’ll tell you they run this town. Even have a makeshift army base not too far from here. For the past 20 years they’ve had a stranglehold on this town..”

“And why do you let them? Seems you have more important things to be worrying about than me.”

The sheriff’s expression became angry.

“You think I like allowing those racist bastards do whatever they want? I’m tough, but I can’t defeat a small army on my own. Even if I do have the deputy with me.”

“Where are the other cops?”

“They either quit or joined the Humanity Defense Front. What you saw today are all the cops that protect this town. An old man and an orc.”

“Can’t you tell the lord what’s happening? I’m sure he’d send some guards here.”

“I did. I sent hundreds of letters asking for assistance over the years. But every one of them has been ignored. I suppose the lord has more important things to worry about than a small town. Now onto the question of your trial date.”

The sheriff sat back down and took out a file. He was about to read it when a knock was heard at the door.

“Sheriff Reeves! I need to talk to you!” a female voice yelled.

The sheriff looked up from his paper.

“Ms. Madison?”

“Yes, I need to warn you Sheriff. Some stuff happened today you need to know about.”

“If it’s about the fight that happened in town I’m working on it. I told the people the law will handle it.”

“Sheriff, I'm not talking about that. In the park today I was almost hang-”

Suddenly the sound of bottles clacking together could be heard outside.

Warren looked at the sheriff and saw that his eyes narrowed, indicating he knew what that sound was. The bottles continued to be clacked together in a rhythmic pattern.

“Sheriff….come out to playyyy. Sheriff...come out to playyyy. Sheriff….come out to playyyy!” a voice cried.

“You stay here. I’ll be right back” Sheriff Reeves ordered.

He got out of his chair and took out a sword that had been under the desk the entire time. He briskly left the room.

“Ms. Madison, please stay inside. Tarz you watch her” Sheriff Reeves requested as he speed walked his way to the front entrance of the police station. Sarah and Tarz were right behind him.

“Yes Sheriff.” Tarz responded.

“Sheriff Reeves, I have something to tell you” Sarah insisted.

“Save it for later Ms. Madison. I have to see what they want.” The sheriff said as he left the police station.

It was now night, a bright full moon served to light up the street. Before the sheriff was a posse of armed men clad all concealing their identities with sacks over their faces. They all wore the same identical blue cotton outfits. In the front of the gang was a man with small bottles over his fingers, clanging them together. His sack was a different color than everyone else’s. Instead of brown like the other men, he donned a purple one.

“Sheriff Reeeeeeves. How nice of ya to come by.” he said to the sheriff in a hiss.

“What do you want, Simmons?” Sheriff Reeves interrogated.

“Well you and I got some things to talk about. Today was an eventfulllll day. Where should I start?”

“How about with some bastard killing Brother Colescott!” one of the men angrily suggested.

“Oh yeah that’s prolly a good starting point.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not here because of the fight that happened in town?” Sheriff Reeves asked flabbergasted.

“Oh that’s secondary. That cat is going to get what’s coming to him but we came here to ask for justice! A crime has been committed, Sheriff! A horrible dastardly crime!” Simmons explained.

“You see Sheriff Reeves while some kind men were doing their civic duty to protect humanity-now stick with me now because this is where it becomes unbelievable-something, some vile evil-doer decided to kill all the men involved! Slaughtered them like cattle and killed poor Brother Colescott! Can you believe this Sheriff Reeves? Murders happened in this very town! Murders that don’t benefit humanity, but harm it! Right in our beautiful town park. Can you see my eyes Sheriff? I’m shedding tears” Simmons continued, pointing at his eyes despite no tears coming out.

“If a crime has been committed we’ll investigate. There’s no need for you all to come out like this.” Sheriff Reeves announced.

“Oh but there is a reason to come out like this Sheriff. See we don’t want you….arresting the one responsible. No we want you to tell us who did it in case the perpetrator reveals themselves to you. If they do, you are to tell us immediately. We’ll handle the rest.”

“Simmons, you know I can’t do that. I have to let the law-”

“You have to let justice reign! We are that justice! We are the law! Protecting folks from crimes against humanity! This is not a negotiation! I’m ordering you!” Simmons yelled, heated.

“Calm down William” Sheriff Reeves snarled, putting his hand on his sword, ready to unsheathe it if needed.

“You think you can draw your sword against Brother Simmons and live?!” one of the men yelled charging at the sheriff with a drawn sword.

He was about to attack when a foot kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold. Between Simmons and the sheriff stood Warren over the unconscious man, his hands still in chains.

“Marshall?” Sheriff Reeves asked in surprise.

“Saw everything from the window. Couldn’t let you fight them on your own” Warren stated.

“Oh and who do we have here? You’re new ain’t cha? Never seen your face before. This town doesn’t take too kindly to strangers getting into our business” Simmons said.

Warren looked at Simmons dead in the eyes.

“So you’re with the Humanity Defense Front? I’m going to need you to take me to your boss. I have some things to discuss with him.”

“You want to talk to the Grand Master? After what you just did? Fella I’m sorry but you’re about to be buried here tonight. Shame too, I don’t like killing humans very much.”

Simmons began to remove the bottles that were around his fingers.

“William, don't do this. Just take your boys and go home” Sheriff Reeves warned.

Simmons ignored the warning as he removed the final bottle. He reached for his back and brandished a gun with a very large barrel, too large to discharge normal bullets. Warren's eyes widened in surprise as he figured out what it was. It was a grenade launcher.

“You only have yourself to blame, Sheriff! All you had to do was say yes.” Simmons lamented.

He was about to pull the trigger when a blur appeared next to him and hit him across the face, making him skid across the dirt street.

“Who in the world?” one of the men asked in shock.

They looked up and saw a large masked man. He wore the same outfit as them except that the color of the sack over his head was black. The man dwarfed over everyone else present. He was the same size as the deputy orc except much more muscular.

“Brother Black?” the men yelled in unison.

“What did I tell you about doing things on your own, Simmons?” the large man said as he wiped the blood off his fist.

Simmons began walking back to them as blood rolled down his neck indicating that his mouth was bleeding.

“Oh shucks Black you know I had to come.” he said, acting like he wasn't in pain.

“No one gave you the order. You don’t do until told to.”

“Why do you always gotta ruin the fun?”

“Go home Simmons. If you know what’s good for you. You all do the same” Black told the group of men.

“Y-yes Brother Black” they said walking away from the scene.

“Ugh fine. The council is going to order what I tried to do tonight anyway. You’re just delaying things” Simmongs grumbled, leaving the scene.

There were now only four people standing in front of the police station. Sheriff Reeves, Warren, the man called Black, and the unconscious man. Black picked up said man and put him over his shoulders.

“Don.” Sheriff Reeves called out.

The large man looked at him.

“Sheriff Reeves. Sorry about tonight. But a word of advice, listen to what Simmons said. A member of the council died today. There must be punishment. Just follow along and things will be fine.”

“Don, you know I can’t do that. If I find someone who committed the crime mentioned, I won’t turn them over to you. The law must-”

“-be enforced I know. We’re lucky enough to have you turn a blind eye. The idea of you doing our bidding is ridiculous. But if you really care about this town you’ll do it. That’s all I gotta say.”

The large man began to walk away into the night. Now Warren and the sheriff stood alone.

“Seems like something big is happening here” Warren commented.

“It appears to be so. You’re right Marshall, it appears I do have more important things to worry about.”