Darkwatch: The Lost Other

The Eighth Victim

It was a long drive to the Night Watch headquarters. Will drove in his own truck following agent Jack Crawford. Anxiety gnawed at him like tiny maggots feeding upon a carcass. He didn't want to come back here. When he left he hoped it was for good. The Watch isn't one for letting it's agents go. What made him think that he'd be, he did not know.

'Would they still fear me?' Will silently wondered. Being a Light Other with a "dark" gift made other Light Others uncomfortable. Fear was an emotion Light Others strived to overcome. Will on the other hand excreted fear. His gifts made it hard for him to distinguish what was his emotions and what was the victims. It made him quite unstable as a person. A profound compassion and strong psychometry made being in the field difficult. Made his fellow colleagues avoid him. Not that he liked their company anyway.

Jack car halted to a stop in an empty lot. He saw him park and did the same. Jack got out and stood in front of Will's truck before disappearing into the Twilight. Will sighed and got out. He exhaled sharply before entering the Twilight. Jack was waiting for him within the sepia colored realm. They were standing outside the Night Watch headquarters.

"Have you kept on your basic training?" Jack inquired eyeing him as he walked by his side. The Twilight realm could be quite draining and even deadly without proper training. Newly tagged Others had to take courses to learn to use their abilities lest their own power consumes them. Learning to enter and travel through the Twilight was one of the first lessons of an Other. Will nodded and started walking towards the building.

"Good. Good. I suppose I'll give you the briefing then." Will glanced at him before pulling the door open. As soon as they entered, the Twilight dissipated.

"Eight Others have been abducted from eight different Minnesota campuses. All young women." Jack explained. They passed cubicles with busy Night Watch agents. Some looked shocked to see Will. The empath ignored them. He felt deeply uncomfortable being back here. He was still the talk of the Quantico Night Watch Division. Many here would love nothing than to study him.

"I thought there were just seven girls? When did you tag the eighth?" Will asked perplexed. He heard the story on the news though status of them being Others wasn't announced in the media. Jack led him to a conference room.

"Just shortly before I entered your lecture hall." He said as he entered the room. Will walked after him closing the door behind him.

"You say abductions because there are no bodies?" The awkward man stated. Jack flipped over a bulletin board with pictures of the missing Others.

"No bodies, no parts of bodies, nothing that comes from bodies. Nothing. We believe an Other had to be responsible for this. Possibly a Dark magician." Crawford suggested. Will eyed the board. He was hesitant to go near it. He brought his attention back to Jack.

"Maybe they weren't taken from where you think they were. You said the victims were both Light and Dark Others?" Will spoke as he finally approached the board. He scanned the pictures of the young women.

"So this means-", Will started but Jack's voice cut him off.

"Yes, It means the Day Watch will be investigating this as well. It's a loss to both the Light and Dark." The older man growled. His disdain toward Dark Others was apparent. Most Light Others felt the same way. The Dark and Light were once at a stalemate in a hidden battle for thousands of years. Despite that Will didn't dislike Dark Others. Will stared at the images and the map beside it. Jack stood beside him.

"If they weren't taken from the campus then where?" He asked getting back to the matter at hand. Will was quiet for a moment trying to keep himself under control. His abilities, much like his emotions, were hard for him to keep a hold of.

"I don't know. Some place else." He responded.

"All these girls were taken on a Friday meaning they wouldn't be reported until Monday. So however he's doing it, he needs the weekend cover his tracks." Jack stated.

"Who was number eight?" Will asked softly.

"Alise Nichols. 19 years old. Light Other. From the St.Cloud campus. She was supposed to come home and house sit while her parents were away but never made it home."

Will kept his focus on the board. "One through seven are most likely dead. He's not keeping them around."

"So we focus on Alise Nichols then."

"They all seem very...Mall of America. Lots of wind chaffed skin." Will commented.

"They're the same height, same weight, roughly the same age, hair color, eye color. So just what is it about these girls?"

"It's not all these girls. Just one of them. He's collecting them. Like Willy Wonka. And amongst all those candy bars is his true intended victim and if we follow through with our metaphor is our golden ticket." Will said as if he was out of breath.

"So is he warming up for his golden ticket or reliving whatever he had done to her?" Jack asked looking over at Will. The dark haired man licked his lips before speaking.

"She wouldn't be the first. And she wouldn't be his last. He would hide how special she was. I mean wouldn't you?" He looked at him. Jack nodded in thought.

"I need you closer to this." It wasn't exactly a request. Will immediately declined.

"You have Heimlich in the New York division and Bloom in yours. Both are exquisite magicians. You don't need me." He began grabbing his stuff.

"You have very specific abilities that would be beneficial for this." Jack said trying to sway him. Will shook his head. He found Jack's remark quite ironic.

"There's a great deal of talk about my abilities. I can't help you Jack. I'm not fit for the field and you know it." Will said heading toward the door. Jack pressed his mouth into a flat line.

"This is a loss that will take us a while to recover from, Will. The balance still tips towards the Dark even though they too have lost their own. The very least we can do is find out what happened to them. You can help us." Jack plead. Will paused and let out an sigh.

"That may require me to be sociable."