Prologue

Sirens blared and lights flashed around the pitch-black night. Police cruisers surrounded a shopping mall while some of them were SWAT vans and Atlas APCs. Each of the cruiser's doors were open and police officers and Atlesian soldiers gathered together, discussing a crime issue.

Behind them, a gray sedan with a label Aurora on the grille drove past the gate of the mall and headed near the entrance before stopping next to the police cruisers. A man came out, in a leather jacket with a shirt underneath and a red tie. His face and hair looked like he was dressed to impress.

Detective Andre Hilltop glanced at his scroll before blowing cold air. He walked over the tape surrounding the mall's entrance. He lifted the tape, seeing most of the officers talking to each other while some were trying to calm the distressed witnesses, covered in blankets. As soon as he saw an officer holding a clipboard, he went up to him and cleared his throat.

"What's the issue, officer?" He asked.

The officer looked at him "We've received a distress call from a witness, about an issue at the Vale Central Mall before the line was cut off."

"What seemed to happen?"

"The thing is," The officer continued, taking the conversation off subject. "The chief's being concerned over a unit he dispatched to investigate hasn't returned or contacted since 2 hours."

Andre scratched his chin. If the unit hasn't returned for 2 hours, he could confirm that they could either be murdered or just slacking around. Either way, someone needs to investigate.

"What did the caller say before the line was cut?" Andre questioned.

"Well," The officer stated. "The witness said something about the whole mall on a blackout all of a sudden."

"And?"

"There was a loud sound from the line. He didn't say anything for around 10 seconds before he said something we couldn't hear and told us to get the police immediately. Right until the call finished."

"It could be possible he was murdered to avoid giving out more information." He commented, walking away.

Andre headed into the entrance with one of the displays shattered and glass spread over the ground. Once a mall bustling with citizens and visited by politicians and ministers now just an empty dark place, even though the shops were still standing. Inside the entrance, he caught up to a group of Atlesian soldiers and a SWAT team. One of the Atlesian, an officer wearing a beret and a long coat noticed Andre and saluted. The others did the same.

"Evening, Detective Hilltop," The officer announced, raising his hand. "I'm Atlas Corporal Taron Blum and this is my top unit." He showed Andre his unit. A handful of mostly armored soldiers with helmets covering their faces, including the mouth.

"Pleasure to meet you," Andre raised his to shake his hand. "I see the chief of police sent you here to accompany me, right?"
"Correct," Blum replied. "I've organized my team of the best men I can offer that will help seize the criminals and make sure nothing goes awry."
"Same for the SWAT?"
"Yes."
Andre breathed out and fumbled his jacket. "Alright then. Let's move."
He headed for the open area of the mall as Blum ordered his men to follow. In front, an officer stood near the wide area with tape surrounding it.
"Might wanna be careful," He said, in a country accent. "Those folks the chief sent got lost and ain't ever seen again. I rather stay here and keep watch."
Andre stifled a smile, lifting the tape. "Thanks."
"Oh, and don' get eaten! Just in case." The officer called out just as Andre and the group disappeared.

As the group moved on, Andre looked around. The wide area with the shops and seats on the middle were covered in extreme dusk that Andre had to use his scroll as a torch. He went on, shining his scroll as Blum's unit and the SWAT did the same.

Ahead of them, a SWAT operative notice a line of blood.

"Sir, there's blood." He said, showing Andre.

"Follow the blood. It could lead to a link."

They went after the line which stopped at a entrance. Andre cocked his head up and noticed a trashed boutique store. In front of them was a maimed body, covered in blood and laying on a smashed table. Andre shone the scroll and grimaced at that one sight.

It was a body of a woman. Her arms were hanging from her elbows with bone showing. The innocent face was disfigured as one eye was poked out. The body's stomach was exposing its removed intestines and even a stabbed kidney. Andre didn't want to describe more as the SWAT operative gagged and groaned at that sight.

"What the hell?" Andre whispered, approaching the gutted body. He heard the SWAT operative back away before retching from behind.

Andre shook his head and sighed before getting to his feet. Had he never seen any sight like this before. His empty stomach mixed with his dry mouth, combined with thirst.

"Sir?" Andre heard a voice say. He turned, approaching the operatives. The SWAT operative pointed at a north direction. "There's more."
Andre followed his finger and his eyes widen. The whole mall was destroyed with blood splattered around the ground. Plants rotten, shops' signs were limping and even worse, the sight of the bodies.

The smell snuck into each of the noses, the odor was unbearable. Andre covered his mouth but held his scroll.
"Masks on, now!" An operative bellowed. Each SWAT operative pulled out a gas mask, wearing over their helmets and balaclavas. Andre was handed a respirator mask. He slipped it on without hesitation.

"Let's move." Blum ordered, heading to the open. Some Atlesian soldier reluctantly followed him as the rest stayed behind.

As the group stepped over butchered bodies, Andre heard loud breathing coming from each SWAT operative, as well as himself. Andre observed the bodies. Flies surrounded each of it, buzzing in every second. Even several slimy eggs covered on them.

"What the hell happened here?" One of the SWAT operatives questioned.

"Whaddya think, idiot?" Another responded harshly. "Anything could've happened!"
Andre ignored the bickering and moved on. So if it wasn't a White Fang orchestrated attack, then what is it that started it? Could it be something worse than Grimm?

The group moved away, stopping to a halt. More of them kept on, shops trashed and dead bodies.

"Let's move away from here," said Andre. "Head upstairs."

"Finally!"

Making their way to the first floor, the group slowly advanced. Suddenly, they heard a muffled clang echoing through the mall. All of them stopped. They didn't notice anything as it was dark. Strangely to Andre, the sound looked like it was coming from the ceiling.

"This way." Blum ordered, moving up to the food shops.

As they checked the shops, more sounds echoed through the court but none were bothered by it. Suddenly, Andre heard muffled growls. He stopped at his tracks. Growls? Why are there growls all of a sudden that sound like a Grimm?

The group continued to move until a loud sound rang through again. Still nobody bothered to check but this time they raised their weapons just to protect themselves. While navigating through tumbled chairs slowly, a SWAT operative let out a yelp before disappearing. This time, everybody spun around, surprised.

The Atlesian soldiers and the SWAT aimed their weapons at nothing as they listen to muffled rippings and crunching liquid. Some of the soldiers were scared, even the "best" Atlesian soldiers too.

"What the hell was that?" A SWAT operative asked, frightened.

"Was that a Grimm?"
"That's bullshit!" An Atlesian soldier responded strictly. "Grimm don't come here at all! Not even when there's a thousand of people." Andre had to agree. Grimm are only attracted to negative emotion.

"All of you, shut up." Blum shushed, raising his hand.

The group moved forward, some began to tremble along with their weapons. As they moved on, the sound returned but this time, using its actions. Grabbing on a SWAT operative's legs, it pulled him away. He let out a cry, attracting attention everybody. Andre shone his scroll to where the SWAT operative was.

"No, no, help! HELP! HEEEELLLP!"

Everybody watched in alarm as the light shone on the operative, helplessly slapping the ground for support as he was pulled away where the light didn't shine. The entire group listened to body ripping, cowardly screams and chairs tumbling. Blood splattered on both the property and the ground. Andre stared in terror before turning to the others. The Atlesian soldiers and the SWAT were completely petrified, except Taron Blum.

In the shadows, red splattered eyes shone through the shadows. The worst thing that spine-chilled the soldiers were the round, dark orange glow. All of a sudden, the court was filled with bullet sounds. Every soldier, SWAT and Atlesian, moved forward and shot at the figure. The bullets didn't affect the monster but strained him a bit as it backed away.

The soldier's fired until they heard the monster charging at them. They backed away to safety except for one Atlesian soldier. The soldier still shot at him before the monster jumped. Before he knew it, black claws rammed through his neck. He choked on his own blood before his head was completely removed. The headless body fell to the ground with the rifle clattering.

Soldier's backed away, with looks as it this event will stay with them forever. Andre knew what it meant. You reap what you sow. A complete mistake to show it's full look.

The monster's body was nothing but black skin with red veins, linking to the neck and it's head. White horns on its forearms with half of it's face like a devil with its splattered mouth and eyes glowing while the other half is just a white skull with red veins. Mix of blood and saliva drooled onto the ground as the monster roared.

"RUN!" One of the soldiers yelled, running off. Andre and Blum's unit went after him.

The monster growled and snorted before clambering for them. Andre led the group and went into the toilets. Heading to the staff-access hallway, Andre sprinted past janitor equipment, tumbling down brooms. The SWAT and the Atlesian soldiers raced after him, stopping to shoot the monster behind them before catching up.

As they ran, an Atlesian operative tripped over a broom. He tumbled and fell to the ground. Panting for air and no time to get up, he crawled away from the monster. Turning his head to where the monster is, he saw it run faster on the walls and the ceilings before it cocked its head to the soldier.

Fear consumed him as he reached for his rifle before glancing to discover the monster already on him. Andre ignored the distant screams and gut-wrenching sounds as he ran towards the hallway on his right. As Andre reached for the fire door, he noticed that Blum isn't around. Wheezing, he ran to find Blum standing on the middle of the hall. He doesn't seemed scared about the situation. Around him were just around 3 Atlesian soldiers and only one SWAT operative.

Andre glared at him as if he's crazy. "Corporal! We got to move, now!"

"Listen to the detective, he's right!" An Atlesian soldier said, on Andre's side.

"No!" He snapped. "Why are we running? Let's show that brute who we are!"

"To hell with this! I'm outta here!"

"I'd rather die getting shot than getting mauled by a psychopath!"

Taron Blum watched his own "best" unit following Andre, abandoning him. He stood there, realizing his own unit become weaklings.

"What?" He bellowed. "Cowards! Get back here, you idi-AHH!" The monster caught up to him and dragged his leg, sending him into the darkness. Looks like the corporal isn't as smart as Andre thought he is.

Andre went down the stairs with an Atlesian soldier on the lead. Suddenly, the door on their left tore apart. The monster returned, cutting off their tracks and startling the soldiers and Andre, causing him to drop the scroll. The scroll with the light still on clattered near the monster.

An Atlesian at the front fired at the monster before he was pounced and ripped apart. Andre and the remaining soldiers went back to the stairs, shutting the door.

"Go! I'll take him from here!" An Atlesian soldier told them, picking a grenade off his suit.

Andre and his remaining group, consisting one SWAT operative and the last Atlesian soldier, ran to the hallway to whatever it takes them. Charging to a door ahead, they managed to barge in. The group found themselves inside the loading docks where they noticed a small, round parking lot still with several vehicles parked. He vaulted over the railing and looked around for another exit. As he searched, the screech returned.

"Shit, it's here!" One Atlesian soldier cried out.

Andre dashed away from the shadow before heading to a semi trailer. There, he and the remaining units hid behind, waiting for the monster to disappear. Andre's breath caught up, hurting his lungs but he ignored as he watched the shadow cast over the trailer which eventually led to a room. He saw it as the right time to get past, gesturing the soldiers to follow him.

As the group advanced, they heard a snort before a screech behind. Spinning around, a SWAT operative at the last stared at it in fear. Andre ignored him and ran off with the Atlesian soldier with him, leaving the operative behind to shoot at the monster coming at him. He doesn't care about their deaths anymore, as long as they don't put it to waste.

Kicking the door down, Andre and the Atlesian soldier made their way to a cleaner hall before leading themselves to a storage room. They ran past it and slammed their way out to a fire exit door. Andre opened the door and toppled their way onto the stairs. He stopped on a floor and slammed open a door with a "White" sign on it.

They looked around and found themselves in a parking lot. There were still cars parked in a row while some spaces were left untouched. As the two searched for something to escape, one of the vents above tore off. The monster apparently crawled its way from the vents to where the parking lot is. Andre could assume that this monster has extreme vision.

The monster caught Andre and the Atlesian soldier in its glowing eye before roaring. It began tumbling after them, forcing the two to run. Andre led himself to a wide ramp, leading to a barrier. He vaulted over, almost falling over. The Atlesian soldier tried to do the same only to fall off the beam. There was no point getting back up as the monster already caught up with him.

Andre ignored the loss of a soldier while listening to the screams and gunshots. Right now, it's all up to him. As he trodden rocks on the unfinished parking lot, Andre lost his speed from his throbbing feet and a stabbing kidney. He stopped before pulling out a handgun from his holster, shooting at the monster. Red dust slammed against the monster, backing him down but not destroying the body.

Andre lowered the gun before sprinting. He bumped into a sedan, turning around to notice the monster in the air. With Andre tumbling away from the spot, the monster landed on the sedan's windshield, causing it to sound the alarm. Andre, on the ground, fired several shots at the monster before getting back to his feet.

Had he knew what was coming, he would've not looked back. The monster grabbed hold of Andre's body in a flash before hurling him away. His body slammed against the side of a muscle car, creating a bump on the door and cracked glass on the window. As he fell down, the door limped open. The gun stayed on his hand though.

Spitting out blood and meat, Andre painfully pulled himself up as the monster clambered after him. His hand clasped onto a hanging wing mirror. Without a thought, Andre yanked it off completely before swinging the mirror to the monster's face. The glass punctured the monster's face, splattering red blood.

With the monster distracted, Andre unholstered his gun and climbed into the car, swinging the door open. He looked underneath the dashboard and found a row of wires. While he attached the wires together, he glanced up to check on the monster. By the time he managed to hotwire the car, the monster charged at him. Andre quickly started the car and reversed. The monster managed to just slam itself against the door, smashing the door off completely.

The car spun around, hitting another parked car in the process. Andre ignored the alarm sound and yanked the shift knob, setting it to acceleration. The car eventually darted away from the monster, but it wasn't able to control itself. The back wheels tore the floor, causing the car to go in an uncertain direction.

The car almost flipped over from the strong collision. Landing the car safely, Andre redid the shift before making the car accelerate forward while drifting right. The monster suddenly jumped onto the car's roof. His car began to spin out of control, hitting other cars before it managed to control the balance. Andre went back into the car park, ramming the body of the Atlesian soldier and the barrier.

Andre steered left, slamming into other cars just to get the monster off. The car's was completely crumpled from the slamming of cars. The roof almost looked like it was going to fall off. He took the ramp below, taking another right. Noticing a curly ramp, he drifted left. The car began to suffer bumps as the monster slammed the roof repeatedly. Suddenly, it fell off from a sharp turn. The monster somehow managed to climb back up and grab hold of the car. It hung onto the door, near Andre.

Andre noticed the monster scraping itself on the road beside him. He took a left, only for the car to screech out of control and hitting a wall. The car instantly lost engine, making it unusable. Andre coughed and wheezed as smoke surrounded inside the car, making him open the door.

The monster grabbed onto him first thing, throwing his limp body to a van. Andre felt the the piercing and the pain of his back as he landed on the van's window. Everything was silent except for the monster's growling and snarls. He braced as it grasped it's claws on his leg, pulling him down to the cement road.

Andre tried pushing its hands away, only for his hands to writhe in pain. The monster swung it's hands for his body, with a yell. Andre held onto its hands, trying to push it off. He ignored as his hands began to break apart. The monster reached for his face, attempting to rip it off. Andre kneed its body for an effort. But, not powerful. The monster recoiled before continuing to suffocate him.

As his vision began to darken, his pressure burning his body, he began to sense loss of hope. The hope was starting to disappear but the hand on the holster didn't. Pulling the gun out, he slowly trained the gun on the monster's head. With a shot is enough for the monster to knock back. Andre got off and watched as the monster screeched, covering its head. Red, hot blood slithered past its hands. He approached the monster, kicking it to the trashed muscle car.

With the monster weakened, he grabbed onto it in the way the monster did to him. Andre charged the monster to the car's window, hitting the glass. The monster screeched louder than usual, squirming. He did the same process, smashing its head into the glass over and over until the glass completely broke apart. Instantly, he thrusted it's head into a long, sharp shard. The glass impaled the monster's brain, stopping its movement permanently.

Panting, he wiped his head with a sleeve and backed away. Andre noticed the monster twitched and making noises. He caught a glimpse of oil on the ground, leaking. Andre pulled out his gun once more and aimed at the oil. With a touch of the oil, the car set fire. The monster screamed in agony, burning it's body to the ground.

Andre watched it burn. Burning to hell. The monster was capable of massacring an entire army but not for long. He managed to destroy its body, avenging it's victims. Taking one last glance at the monster, burning into ash with the car, he walked away, listening to its voice dying down. He's expecting the police unit to be crazy over his long disappearance. Once he tells the tale, he'll be famous. His name will be on the headlines, everybody will be buzzing online about him and the best thing, he'll get a qualification as an actual detective.

But he didn't notice it. He may have destroyed its body but the soul remained in the air. A dark pair of wandering eyes, watched its body burn before hovering past the building in search for a new host. One host that may turn on themselves and destroy humanity.