Night's Warmth

Chapter 8 - News

My sleep gets interrupted by loud notifications from my phone on the coffee table. I groggily sit up on the couch and let out a loud yawn as I stretch myself. I get up from the couch and get myself a glass of water from the kitchen before going back to the couch and checking my phone. My tiredness suddenly fades away as I get hit with loads of shocking messages from my class group chat.

"@everyone CHECK THE NEWS!!"

"Wut is it???"

"Checking it rn brb"

"haven't yall heard? someone got murdered and it happened here in the town"

"WTH?!?!"

"it's trending on fb guys and apparently our uni is getting dragged on the mud too"

"Ugh, I don't really have time to worry about this. I'll just study for tomorrow's quiz."

"wait we have a quiz tomorrow??"

"JEWEL SOMEONE JUST ####### DIED IN OUR TOWN AND YOUR SMARTASS IS OVER HERE WORRYING ABOUT SOME QUIZ SMH"

"jewel there's people dying! - kris jenner"

"LMAOOO"

"We're getting off topic here, why is our university getting involved too?"

"i heard that the victim was a former student from the same university as ours and that she graduated just last year"

"This #### is straight outta crime movie"

"yeah no i should drop out if another murder happens. wouldn't want to be next"

"It's not like a serial killing is gon take place here... right???"

"@everyone calm tf down!!"

The rest of the chat is mainly everyone shouting and fighting each other.

...

Wait, is it really true? Someone in our town was killed last night? I grab the remote and turn the TV on. I'm greeted by the breaking news.

"BREAKING NEWS: A woman has been murdered in a neighborhood in Snowfall Town, Alaska. The victim is identified as Nora Shea, a cashier from Mars Drugstore, Lionheart Mall. She is also a former student from Winter Lavender Private University who had graduated just last year."

"Around 9 PM last night, neighbors heard screaming and a few witnesses ran to the source of the sound to find a black hooded individual stabbing Nora to death. When the witnesses were about to catch the killer, they ran off and left Nora to die. When Nora was rushed to the Snowfall Hospital, she was pronounced dead at arrival."

"According to witnesses, the killer wore completely black clothing and wielded a knife. They also added that the killer is a beastman, though their tail was also covered in black clothing and their ears were hidden with the hoodie."

"Investigators have recently discovered that Nora used to bully many of the students from the university, along with her friends. Some of the former students have been questioned and possible suspects have been identified. The university is now facing backlash for not handling the bullying properly and letting the victims of bullying resort to murder."

"New policies have now been issued, with curfews taking place this night and so on. Those who work late night shifts are now required to have another person accompany them. The university, known for having late night classes and cram school, has now been forced to host these nightly classes online, which will take effect this week."

I turn off the TV and sit there on the couch, processing everything that's happening right now. First, Gab suddenly showed up injured near my house and I had to take care of him while finding out his whole past, and now there's a murderer in my town running loose. I take a deep breath and sigh. I suddenly jump when I hear a familiar voice behind me.

"Alex?.."

I turn around and see Gab opening the bedroom door, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I heard someone speaking so loudly I could hear it in the bedroom."

"Oh, sorry about that.. I received some news from my phone and turned on the TV to check it out."

Gab looks at me with concern evident in his expression. "Is everything okay? You look kind of shaken up."

I nod, trying to gather my thoughts. "Yeah, just... There's been a murder in town. And it's not just that, it's the whole situation surrounding it. The victim, Nora, was a former student at our university. Apparently, she used to bully people, and now the university is facing backlash for not handling it properly."

Gab's eyebrows furrow as he processes the information. "That's awful. Do they know who did it?"

I shake my head. "Not yet. Witnesses saw a black-hooded figure, possibly a beastman, but they couldn't catch them. It's all over the news now, and the town is in chaos. They've even implemented curfews and new safety policies."

Gab sighs, his tail moving idly. "This is insane. And to think, just a few days ago, we were dealing with my situation. Now this..."

"Yeah," I reply, feeling the weight of the recent events settling on my shoulders. "It's a lot to take in."

Gab notices my anxiety and gives out a bright smile. He approaches me from behind the couch and ruffles my hair.

"Don't worry about it. We're probably not the next targets. We'll just have to stay safe until then." He chuckles. "I'll protect you from the killer." He exclaims happily.

I brush off his paw and shake my head to fix my hair.

"D-Don't be so confident about it! You're still injured and your wounds still need healing.."

Gab laughs softly. "I appreciate your concern, Alex. But don't underestimate me. I may be injured, but I can still hold my own if I need to."

"Yeah, I'd have to admit, you're still pretty strong even when seriously injured, but still.."

Gab chuckles again and then sighs. "Alright, alright.. I won't pick fights. But I guess we should continue our investigation regarding my past while being cautious about the killer."

I nod. "Mhmm.."

I get up from the couch and stretch for a bit. We decide to lighten up the mood by having breakfast.