Monsters Aren't Real (Superlock)

Chapter 14

For a mere second, Sherlock didn't know where to start. John was gone, the apartment was thrashed. Those things alone were pretty alarming, but combined they were terrifying. Sherlock had many enemies, old ones, new ones, enemies he made himself and enemies that saw him as a threat. He was aware of this, and when he was alone it never really bothered him. In his line of work, it was normality to have adversaries. And the first foe that could surprise Sherlock Holmes had yet to reveal himself. No, taking him by surprise wasn't something you'd do easily. But John, John was a different matter. John knew how to act when in close combat, when the opponent was standing directly in front of him. Along with that, John's military training had thought him spot the first signs of a dangerous individual, an individual that was likely to attack. However, the veteran would be a lot easier to ambush than him. Only a few of the dozens times had John noticed any stalker Sherlock had sent after him, to check if he was alright of course. It was possible that one of his many enemies had laid out a trap for Sherlock, yet it had been John that had been caught. It was one of his worst fears, John being in danger because of him. It was selfish to keep him around, Sherlock knew that all along. But it was to his disgust that Sherlock had come to realise that he wouldn't be able to live without him anymore. So Sherlock had decided that pushing John away was something for a later date, now he wouldn't be able to deal with it. Nor would he able to deal with the fact that he had indirectly had caused his friend harm, yet all the signs were there...

Signs.

Sherlock snapped out of his thoughts. Signs, if he wanted to find John he had to read the signs. This was what he was good at and what could actually help him. So Sherlock closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. In his mind, he started to go trough the clues he had already been given.

Two men had entered the apartment, Shoe sizes were 10 and 12. About half an hour later John had entered. John was likely to carry a weapon, Sherlock's gun, which he had hidden in the hallway below, he knew this because of the tape that was laying in the hall. So, John must've known that something was amiss. Or, another possibility. Two burglars had found the gun and had smashed the apartment trying to find valuable items. This was something Sherlock found unlikely, because of the simple fact that he had already noticed that the most valuable items in the apartment, that also happened to be very easy to take, were still there. So Sherlock abandoned the second idea and opened his eyes.

If John had carried a weapon, it was a possibility that he had fired it. He quickly scanned the floors and walls, but no other bullet holes other than the ones he had made himself were present. John hadn't fired the gun, nor had his adversaries, at least not in the living area.

Blood. It was unmistakably blood that Sherlock had spotted on the remains of the broken desk. With a few big strides, Sherlock had crossed the room and knelt beside it. From the way the wooden planks were placed on the ground he saw that whatever had destroyed it, had come from above the desk. It hadn't been a kick or something comparable. Again, Sherlock searched the room, yet this time from a new point of view. It was then that he noticed that the destroyed desk and broken door frame were in one line. Slowly Sherlock rose to his feet.

Two people were fighting. One hit the doorframe, after which the two had struggled with each other, the scuffle ultimately ending by one of the two falling onto the desk, very likely also hitting their head, which caused the bleeding.

An uneasy feeling started to form in his stomach, but he quickly put his worries aside.

Facts, never ever make conclusions if you haven't finished your research. Shaking his head lightly, he shook the feelings of uneasiness from him and he walked to the fallen chair.

No blood. If he was lucky the chair hadn't simply been knocked over, but someone had actually fallen across it. Because if the last thing had happened it was plausible that there would be DNA traces on the chair.