Diary of a Demon Hunter

5 - Tragedy's Aftermath

"Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity."
-Khalil Gibran

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Five - Tragedy's Aftermath

Sirens blared through the streets, as trucks rolled over the stones past the on looking crowds walking up and down the pavements. A billow of ugly grey smoke rose into the sky. It mushroomed out like a cloud of black ink in water, like a virus staining the blue ocean above the city. It looked almost like a living thing. Moving with its own will...it was only smoke, though once someone stared at it long enough the cloud would begin to resemble other unsettling things. The important thing was, the fire which had caused this monster to rise into the blue yonder had been extinguished. The cloud began to disperse from the bottom up, it would still take a bit longer for it to disappear. The back alley behind two brick buildings near West Street and Mirabel Avenue had been completely torched. Set alight, the culprit was yet to be named, or was just being kept a secret. The buildings themselves had caught in flames. It was a lucky feat the fire trucks arrived when they did to begin battling the fire. Authority figures stood outside the alley, pushing members of the nearby crowd away. No one knew anything yet, well, except the fact a body had been found, completely burnt and unrecognisable. Near it were the charred remains of what they thought could have been a baby pram. It was a horrific scene to say the least.

"What kind of monster do you think would do such a thing?" A young man asked another, older looking fellow who stood next to him. They both wore uniforms representing the local police force. The younger male who had asked the question had tanned skin and black hair short and cut close to his scalp, clean shaven face and dark eyes. The officer he addressed looked to him. He had lighter skin, and sandy hair combed back. He had a moustache and goatee, eyes a dark olive green. He didn't say anything.

"A woman and her baby. I mean..."

"We can't say the body back there is a woman for sure, not until it's identified. Though the damage makes that near to impossible."

"There's a body and a carrier." The younger officer wiped his brow. "You don't think that's who it was? A mother?"

"There were no signs of an infant's body here, Anderson"

"I know...Just...Jesus Christ"

"There's nothing easy about this job, rookie." The older man sighed. "Get used to it."

Anderson put both hands on his waist, above the belt strapped to his hip holding his holstered weapons. A hand gun, a Taser as well as other items including handcuffs and accompanying keys. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as his eyes landed on something interesting in front of them. Two men, one tall, another short, both well dressed in tailored black and white suits approached them. They didn't look like they belonged at a scene like this, but they were getting this far into the closed off area without being stopped by any of the other officers.

"Gareth"

The older officer turned as Anderson mentioned his name. He too spotted the two men and stepped forward.

"This is a restricted area, what gives you authority to be here?"

"Apologies." The taller man stated in a calm tone. He held his hand behind himself, posture perfect. It only made him look taller. "My name is Aaron Kramer; I've come on behalf of the Kramer Organisation."

With a moment of studying the two strangers in front of himself, the police man offered a hand. "Officer Richard Gareth. This is my partner Tony Anderson"

Kramer shook the hand in front of him. "Could you please give us a run through of the scene?"

"Sure." Gareth mentioned for them and his partner to follow him, they walked through the narrow alley, halfway only it began to show the signs of the fire. The four men soon stepped out into the back alley. Kramer observed the scene with no sign of emotion on his face. He just studied the space he was in, each inch of the blackened stone. "Can I ask why the Kramer Organisation is interested in a simply accident?"