14

Hunter, Don't Shoot My Friend

Chapter 14: The Incident Unfolds

"Emily Cooper?" Ethan glanced at the photograph in his hands. The lively-faced girl seemed to be anything but someone who would cause trouble.

Gazing at the lake, empty of people at his own request, Ethan contemplated the silent waters with ducks moving from one place to another.

He had assumed all this time that it was a malevolent spirit, but that didn’t make sense since he wouldn’t be here trying to solve this case otherwise.

The Light Association, which currently resolves all issues with incorporeal dark entities, would not have sent him on this mission as a field agent investigating and eliminating dark entities physically.

Moreover, deeper investigations had been conducted on this lake to determine if it was an incorporeal dark entity through observation rituals and equipment to detect signals of anything unusual. It was impossible for something harmful to be here, causing damage to people.

"If it isn’t an incorporeal dark entity, it should be a corporeal one. Therefore, that thing should be in the lake right now, so as a last resort, I’ll need to investigate the lake." Ethan thought while checking the time. He decided to upload all the information he had to the cloud as a precaution in case he got into trouble.

Dark entities were very mysterious, and knowing he was a field agent, he needed to investigate all these things carefully before making a decision that might involve the intervention of others.

Time is valuable nowadays; no one could afford to waste it on unnecessary things. A field agent must be sure before calling for reinforcements. An agent could not waste an entire squad’s time on mere speculations.

"Evidence; I need to gather evidence." Ethan made a somewhat risky decision, but it was his last chance before abandoning the case for lack of evidence. If this wasn’t a dark entity that kills its victims directly and causes massacres, the Light Association and the S.G.C. wouldn’t care about a victim seeing an innocuous head.

The deaths had been suicides; there were no deaths that a human could not have committed. Therefore, this case would be discarded if Ethan didn’t find conclusive evidence today.

Ethan took out his cell phone and dialed the support line. "This is Captain Ethan Jones, currently on an ongoing mission... My confirmation code is U27-IA00-UE28."

"Zz… What are your orders, Captain?"

Ethan looked at the lake for a few seconds and said, "Prepare me for a more in-depth and risky investigation. I’ll need a support team on standby, so they should be ready before midnight."

"Zz… Do you have the emergency button with you?"

"I have it." Ethan glanced at his watch, which was not actually a watch.

"Zz… Understood, sir. Good luck."

After hanging up, Ethan began uploading the information he had and waited for the hours to pass slowly.

At nine o’clock in the evening, police officers patrolled the park to ensure there were no civilians before Ethan began the more thorough investigation as per protocol.

Since it was dangerous, Ethan donned a lightweight bulletproof vest that would at least offer more protection than nothing and then boarded a boat.

Starting the engine, Ethan ventured into the lake. He didn’t stop until he was in the middle of the dark, silent place. With only a flashlight, he looked around before turning off the boat’s engine.

"Good or evil? Emily Cooper, if you still remember this name, you should listen to me." Ethan looked around while holding his pistol beneath his belt.

"You were murdered here, according to old police records. Your head was attempted to be cut off with a dull knife, and somehow your body was thrown into the lake with bags filled with stones to make you sink."

Ethan paused and continued, "You’re not a spirit or a demon, so you must be a supernatural entity that began to evolve after your death. It is said that your body disappeared, but that was hidden by the police. Who would care about someone without family?"

Splash!

At that moment, the water in the lake stirred, and a few seconds later, everything fell silent, including the crickets. Ethan, in the middle of the boat, turned around and saw a completely pale face. Unlike the explanations he gave, this female face resembled that of a fish and had scales all over it.

Ethan aimed his weapon as soon as he saw the monster and said, "I’m sorry for arriving late, but you don’t need to keep punishing those you believe are guilty."

"Your smell!"

Saying these words, Ethan’s eyes widened as the monster in the water leapt toward him with great force. Without waiting for any sort of embrace, Ethan fired continuously, without stopping.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of the gunfire echoed across the lake and parts of the park, alarming the police officers, who were tasked only with keeping civilians out of the lake.

At that point, Ethan, who had been dragged, fell into the water. As the bullets from his pistol seemed never to run out, he fell into a sort of illusion where his world turned black.

"What the hell?"