DemiDemonDarla

Chapter 2: Shadowy Encounters

>>>>> The sun had barely risen over Celestia, casting a hazy golden glow over the city streets, but Darla Arcania was already deep into her morning routine. She stood in her small, cluttered kitchen, absentmindedly sipping on a strong cup of black coffee while scrolling through her phone. The latest updates on the Richards case still sat at the top of her inbox, reminding her that the high-profile investigation had been wrapped up in a neat, unsatisfactory bow. Natural causes, they said.

But Darla knew better.

There was something about Aldous Richards' death that just didn't sit right with her. The young, charismatic congressman had been the picture of health. No history of heart disease, no warnings. People didn't just drop dead like that, not without reason. Darla had seen enough in her five years as a cop to know that the truth was often buried deep, and only the persistent could unearth it.

As she finished her coffee and threw on her leather jacket, she couldn't shake the feeling that today wasn't going to be just another day on the job. There was something in the air, a strange tension that clung to her like a shadow. She shook her head, trying to push it aside. Get your head in the game, Arcania, she told herself.

She left her small apartment, the familiar clang of the door shutting behind her echoing in the narrow hallway. Outside, the streets of Celestia were already coming alive. Vendors setting up shop, commuters rushing to work, children running to catch the school bus. The city was its usual chaotic self, and yet, Darla couldn't help but feel like she was out of step with it today.

As she walked toward the precinct, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Lionel, her friend and a detective on the Richards' case, the man who had promised to take another look at Richards' office, despite the case being officially closed.

"Hey, Darla," Lionel's voice crackled through the line. "I took a quick pass through Richards' office again last night. Didn't find much, but something's off about the place. I can't put my finger on it, but you're right—there's something there we're not seeing."

Darla's grip tightened around her phone. "Thanks, Lionel. I knew it. I'm heading to the precinct now. Keep me posted if anything else turns up."

"Will do. Oh, and try not to piss off Captain Garcia today, yeah?"

Darla let out a dry laugh. "No promises."

She hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket, but the strange sense of unease only grew stronger. As she neared the precinct, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A dark alleyway, nondescript and forgotten by most, seemed to pull at her. There was no reason for her to notice it—it was just another shadowed corner of the city, another place where the mundane and the grimy overlapped. And yet, Darla felt an inexplicable pull, as if something unseen was calling her.

For a moment, she paused, her eyes scanning the entrance to the alley. Her gut told her to keep walking, to ignore it. But there was something else, a deeper part of her that was drawn to it, something primal and unsettling.

She took a deep breath and turned down the alley.

The moment she stepped into the shadows, the sensation intensified. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and a strange, cold shiver ran down her spine. Darla wasn't one to scare easily—she had faced more than her share of danger on the streets of Celestia—but this felt different. It wasn't fear exactly. It was more like... a connection. An unseen force pulling her deeper into the darkness.

She walked slowly, her hand instinctively moving to rest on the holster at her side. Her sharp eyes scanned the alley, but there was nothing. Just damp concrete, the stench of garbage, and the sound of distant city traffic. But still, the feeling persisted.