“I’ve made more progress in the last hour than I did yesterday. However, I’m still not close to reaching what I want.”

My experiment to find a curative for the Smokepire plague had been an up-and-down streak. The various samples I took from Rodent weren’t responding as covalently as I expected them to.

Feeling tired, I decided to take a break from the laboratory. This led me outside for a smoke. That was when I realized the lingering quietness across the estate.

“Huh, where are all the workers?” All I saw around me was unfinished work and unmanned machines. “Those workers better not be trying to stretch the work out so that they can demand more money.”

Razi snuck up on me from out of nowhere and asked, “What are you talking about?” I told her what I had on my mind and she voiced a suitable response. “Today is Sunday. So the workers won’t be coming back to work until Monday.”

“You mean they get a day off after being paid so much money? Isn’t that considered being lazy?”

“No, they are regular humans after all and regular humans need their rest, otherwise, they will collapse. We can’t all go on working continuously like you, Smoke Pac.” She drew closer to me and said, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you about what you have going on down there in the basement. I’ve been hearing occasional animal cries. Do have another alien down there?”

This chick was getting too damn nosy. To get her off my back, I remarked, “That’s none of your business.” Although I stated my intentions, Razi persisted in her inquiries.

“Why won’t you tell me?” She adopted an attitude of pleading urgency. “You forbid me from going down there and you won’t even tell me what you are working on. Why are you being so mean to me? We’re supposed to be partners.”

“Shut up and give me some space.” I shove the talkative bug from my shoulder and proceeded into the yard where I rested beneath the cool shade of an oak tree to enjoy my smoke.

“You big idiot!” Razi shouted at me from the patio before storming back into the house. I could care less about what she thought of me. I continued to suck on my cig until only burnt ash remained at the tip of my lips.

‘Inhale… exhale…’

Now that my lungs were refreshed with vapour, I made my way back into the villa to continue with my lab experiment. On my way to the basement, I walked by Razi sitting on the couch. She was using her phone while watching television. An important broadcast was playing that piqued my interest.

Aiming my mouth at Razi, I issued her a command, “Hey, turn up the volume.”

“What for?” She questioned first, instead of doing what I told her to.

“What’s the point of having a slave if she won’t comply with my orders?” While asking this, I gave Razi my austere gaze.

She became intimidated and immediately complied. “Alright, chillax, Smoke Man. I’ll turn up the damn volume.” Stretching for the remote that was sitting on the coffee table, she continued to speak. “It's only the news segment. Since when are you interested?”

“Since now. Give me that.” I dragged the remote from her hand and turned the TV volume to the max. A female reporter was bold on the screen, standing outside the reasonable boundaries of a crime scene while she reported the news.

“Good day viewers. I am Pamela Collins coming to you live from downtown Kotton. To support what my co-worker just stated, there indeed has been a gruesome murder just a few feet behind me outside the residence of Maria Bernhard. Earlier today, the local authorities received a distressing report from a neighbour. It appears that an elderly couple along with their 17-year-old granddaughter has been slain in the most repulsed way ever thought of. Viewers' discretion is advised because what I’m about to show you will be term rather graphic.

This footage was taken earlier. As you can see what remained of the victims. Their skin has been peeled from their body and it seems that their blood has been exsanguinated. The psychopath responsible for committing this terrible act of violence is still at large. A few people have also been abducted in the surrounding area. Similar incidents have been reported at other locations. Based on what I’ve come to understand by being here and after having multiple conversations with the residents, these killings weren’t done by your typical murderer.

More than one person in the vicinity has confirmed multiple sightings of strange creatures roaming about from rooftops and dark corners. Not just here in downtown Kotton but in various other areas of Clown city. It is still too early to tell if this is a hoax or not, but the municipal department isn’t willing to take any chances in denying the evidence. They have already mobilized certain task forces to do whatever it takes to uncover as well as put a stop to the source of this abominable disturbance that has struck again. That’s all I have to share right now. Back to you Paul…”

“Thank you, Pamela for your report…”

“I’ve heard enough.” After lowering the TV volume, I tossed the remote into Razi's lap. She had that ‘Oh my God,’ look on her face.

“It’s so cruel about what happened to that elderly couple and that poor girl.” While shedding a tear for those dead humans, Razi turned her head toward me and inquired, “Smoke Pac, do you think the creatures those people reported seeing could be the aliens who attacked us that night?”

“My gut tells me that it is them. It’s been a week since I’ve come across any Smokepires. Ever since I scared them away that night, only Rodent was brave enough to come at me in broad daylight and look what happened to him. He’s being dissected in my lab.”

“But don’t you think that this situation is really bad, Smoke Pac?”

“How so?”

“Well…” Razi elaborated on what she meant. “Look at it. Instead of coming after you, those creatures are attacking innocent people in the city, killing them in the most inhumane way. At this rate, there will be more people dying at random. Why do you think they are killing those people?”

“My guess is they are killing them for their blood. Human blood is the perfect essence to sustain their Resurrection Rubik’s Cube in combination with combustible vapours. Those Smokepires can’t survive for long without these fundamental ingredients. The more of it they absorb, the more powerful they become. Those bastards are probably juicing up themselves to come and face me later.”

“Shouldn’t you do something about that though? You’re their primary target after all. How many more innocent people will have to die before they decide to come at you again?”

“Why should I give a shit about that? Those people are none of my concern.”

“But you started this entire thing. The least you can do is clean up your mess.”

“Tsk!” This little brat tried to scold me and tell me what to do. I refuse to heed her argument until she touched on a key point.

“What if those things can reproduce? Wouldn’t that be very catastrophic for all of us? Even you won’t be able to survive against a horde of thousands of them creatures.”

“Hmm…? Come to think of it, that just might be possible.” The argument Razi made wasn’t without valid inquest. Those Smokepires were a sneaky bunch of predators. Learning of the devastating possibility of reproduction, I delayed my research to commence an investigation into the matter.

I told Razi that I will be stepping out for a while to tend to some business. She didn’t ask many questions, so I got out of there rather quickly.

Arriving in the heart of Clown City, I went to the crime scene that was broadcasted on television. The police were wrapping up their business there. I waited until the crowd dissipated before going over to investigate. By then, dusk had already greeted me with its presence.

I investigated the crime scene for blood residue. I collected a small sample with a swab and placed it into a vial. This was done so I could properly use a scientific apparatus in my inventory to scan the blood. The results provided a faint scent trail that I followed. My investigation led me to an abandoned 2-storey clinic that was nearby an operational factory.

“I should have come here a lot sooner.” This was the ideal place for those dead punks to a hideout. The vapours from the neighbouring factory would keep their primary essence sustained while they did God only knows what.

“Huh, what is that doing here?” While scoping out the environment, I noticed a garbage truck parked close to the sidewalk of the clinic. The engine was still running but no one was inside or around it. Upon further inspection, I uncovered traces of blood leading from the truck toward the clinic where the wall collapsed.

“This is definitely the right place.” Receiving this mental confirmation caused the System to display a certain message.

--Info--

>> Hunting sense increase

>> Scent trails are more easily accessible