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No matter how much I wanted to interrogate Jackalope about his previous job, I refused to put any kind of pressure on him for the first week he stayed at my place. He needed to get settled in and hadn’t fully adjusted to missing an arm. He made attempts to help out around the house, but was pretty slow doing chores.
My new roommate quickly got a new job. I told him he should take a break and let himself fully heal, but he refused to not contribute towards the bills. The new job had great benefits. His eyesight was fixed to the point where he just had bad night vision. His left eye was still a dull blue instead of a soft brown though. I had no idea people who delivered mail got such great medical care.
Over breakfast Jackalope finally decided he wanted to tell me what he was able about the still unsolved clipped cases, and a little bit about his job now. I left the dishes to be washed later and met him in the living room. He honestly got along pretty well with Pesto. He and that rabbit might as well be made for each other.
“I guess I need to start by telling you supernatural things are real.” Jackalope said as he let Pesto chew on his shirt sleeve for a few seconds.
“What does that mean? Like… are vampires real?” I asked starting to process what he said. Then I leaned over to whisper. “Are you a vampire?” Mostly as a joke.
Jackalope took my terrible sense of humor well. Pesto decided he didn’t and hopped away to create some sort of mess we needed to clean up later.
“I’m… something not human. Let’s leave it at that for now. And let’s just leave it vague on what kind of supernatural things are out there or else we would be here all day. I don’t even know every creature that are are real or not.” He explained and moved to sit on the couch.
I would need to force more information out of him later. For now, I accepted what he was saying. I sat in my chair and kept an eye on our troublesome rabbit.
“Those deaths that happened… they weren’t natural. How much about them have you not told me?” I pressed hoping he would drop something that may finally solve those cases.
“When I was an Agent, I mostly worked on cases relating to cults or Gods.” He said as if that statement was normal.
“Gods? Like… What? The God? Is there more than one?” I pressed.
“I cannot confirm or deny the Christian God, or any other kind for that matter. We call creatures with power beyond understanding Gods. They can be kind, or… not so kind. Most of the time they’re just that. Beyond any kind of understanding. We suspected the clipping cases were caused by a certain dark God. After I prayed to him and offered anything of mine for your life, we confirmed it was the God behind the deaths.” Jackalope said with a strained smile.
His missing arm and scarred face were a touchy topic for both of us. I tried not to bring it up at all if I could help it. He didn’t dwell on that detail, so I didn’t remark on what kind of life debt I owed him.
“Does this dark God have a name?” I asked wondering if this creature was on the same level as Lovecraftian Gods.
“He decided to go by Dan.” Jackalope said with a shrug.
It was like time stopped because of how unimpressed I felt. Dan? A dark God beyond human understanding and killed at least four people I knew about in a gruesome way picked the name Dan? Jackalope saw my expression and shook his head.
“I told you it wasn’t possible to understand them. This God-”
“Dan.” I cut in.”
“Dan,” Jackalope sighed and went on. “Has agreed to stop the clipping cases if someone can guess the reason behind them. He is letting every person take one guest. We were collecting information to see if there had been any similarities or anything we could work with on those cases. No luck so far.”
Jackalope made a move to cross his arms before he realized he was missing one. He just leaned back on the couch instead. He looked upset over these murders would keep happening.
“Could I take a guess?” I offered.
With a nod, he sat up again.
“I don’t see why not. Even if it’s wrong, we could eliminate a possibility.” He agreed.
At least that was something. A wrong guess still helped. I asked if I needed to get in contact with his old work to do this. He shook his head and got up to head to the spare bedroom I’d let him take over. Jackalope didn’t own too many things. I’ve gone out and bought him some clothing the past week because he only had three sets of shirts and pants beside his suits. He came back shortly with an object in his hand that gave me chills. He set it on the coffee table and then wrangled Pesto to put him in the other room. I didn’t want our pet rabbit to be near this thing either.
I stared at the small black tablet made of some sort of polished stone. The same cursed object that Jackalope prayed to save my life. Had this thing been inside the house the entire time? I didn’t like that fact, but I didn’t feel the same kind of power coming off the small stone as before. It looked creepy as hell, but it didn’t strike dread in my heart.
“It’s like a phone call. Unless he picks up, the stone is powerless.” Jackalope said.
I got up to stand next to the small slab, but Jackalope brought it closer to himself.
“You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to. He nearly killed you.” My friend pointed out.
The new scar on my stomach hurt a bit at his words. I haven’t forgotten that night. It’s a miracle I’ve been able to get any sleep after that brush with death. But I knew no matter how much I dislike the idea of getting in contact with the monster that almost killed me, I needed to do so to try and save others.
I gave him a nod showing I felt ready enough to try out this crazy idea. Jackalope didn’t like it but respected my resolve.
I didn’t know where to start. Did I need to chant? Bow to the slab? Make offerings? Jackalope sat on the floor and gestured for me to sit next to him. We both faced the small stone slab and waited. Turns out the Dark God was just waiting for someone to try and reach out to him.
The room became dark around us. The light faded from the corners first and slowly crept closer. I wanted to move my head to look but felt far too scared to do so. Something touched my hand and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I risked a glance down and saw Jackalope’s hand next to mine. I didn’t care what other people might think of the action, I took his hand and held it tight. We were about to talk to a creature powerful to kill us without any effort. I needed as much support as I could get.
A sudden pressure came to our backs. I knew without looking something was watching us. Something huge. All at once I understood how bad of an idea this was. It felt different than what I saw when this thing took Jackalope. The God watching us could take my life on a whim. I knew then that the pillar was the kindest death this monster could think of.
The gaze pressed down on us almost to the point the pressure made me move. I didn’t hear the words but saw the question in my head.
Why did I kill them in that way?
The words inside my head hurt like hell. I almost wasn’t able to form any thoughts. It took everything not to buckle under the weight. My heart started to beat so fast it felt as if it may stop. The God at our back pushed down harder. I doubted it really wanted the question answered. My life was at risk, I realized that far too late. If I wavered for a second, that darkness would happily overtake me.
A set of invisible hands wrapped around my neck. I choked on air, the fear that overtook my mind made me forget everything else. I was going to die. Simple as that. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I was facing a God. A powerful one that killed humans in such cruel and twisted ways. Just before I fell into the hands of that monster, a feeling brought me back to my senses.
Jackalope squeezed my hand so tightly it hurt. The gesture chased away the hands on my neck. If he faced this God all on his own, then I could as well. I finally found my voice and spoke the answer out loud.
“Because you could.” I barely choked out.
The silence that followed nearly killed me. Not a single sound could be heard in the room. Just as I thought I may pass out; a laugh tore through the darkness that started to creep ever closer. I finally gulped air, coughing on it.
The laughter shook the house and rattled my bones. I curled over and brought a hand up to my ear in a poor attempt at blocking out the sound. When it finally stopped, I couldn’t stop shaking. It took me a few minutes to recover. I looked up and saw the stone tablet cracked clean in half and Jackalope giving me a bewildered expression.
Before I could say anything to him, the phone started to ring. I faintly heard his cell phone ringing as well. I might be one of the last batch of people to have a landline. But no one ever called it. Jackalope got up and hurried over to answer the phone. My legs refused to move so I just sat listening to his responses.
“Yes, no, not myself. It was him.” He said to the person on the other end while nodding.
I could see him from where I sat. After a long pause, he nodded again.
“I’ll ask him.” He said and then brought the phone against his chest so the person on the other line wouldn’t hear him speak. “Do… you want a job…?”
My head swam with a million questions. I answered him gracefully.
“Huh?”
I don’t think anyone could blame me for that response. It took a few hours for me to grasp what was happening and what exactly just got offered to me. The company that fired Jackalope wanted to hire me on for some cases. It seems like I did guess the right reason as to why that terrible monster killed innocent people. That gained me some sort of recognition, but they also noticed my profession. A secret company that dealt with taking care of supernatural creatures needed a CSI… for some reason.
On principle, I wanted to reject their offer. But I saw the pay increase and debated on it long enough for Jackalope to notice. He still wasn’t able to fully tell me what this company was like, but he wanted me to make an informed decision.
“To be honest, I don’t like the idea of you doing this job. But, working as a CSI may be the safest position you can work when it comes to The Corporation. They pay insanely well. And you can quit at any time. I would say to do the interview and sleep on it.”
At the very least, I decided to go in for the interview. I might learn some information that Jackalope wasn’t able to give. The sudden job offer took my mind off the fact we both faced a God that day. That caught up to me and I found my legs shaking. I needed to sit down, my head swimming for everything that happened in such a short amount of time.
Thankfully my new roommate collected the two pieces of the slab and took it outside. We would never have a need for such a cursed object. I think he threw it over the fence into the neighbor’s yard, but I wasn’t certain. He soon came back into the living room to collapse on the couch next to me.
“I could have died.” I said out loud, the shock wearing off.
“If I knew that was a possibility, I never would have let you place that call. I may have drawn that God’s attention onto you because I asked for your life. But we now don’t need to ever deal with him again.”
I chewed on my lip, thinking of the most important question unsure if I wanted the answer. After finally knowing why those people died, I didn’t feel any sense of closure.
“What happens to the cases? Are they going to be unsolved forever? Is that God going to be punished for what he did?” I asked mostly to myself.
Jackalope thought about his answers. He knew anything he said would be unfair. It was hard for him to admit what he was about to say.
“The Corporation may stage some sort of end for those cases in order for the families to fully bury their loved ones. For cases like this that have a supernatural cause, they always do a cover-up. And… No. I don’t think the killer is going to be punished in any way. He’s too powerful for almost all of the Agents currently working. The few that can do something about what he’s done… Are far too valuable to risk avenging a few human deaths.”
I didn’t have a high opinion of his old job before, but now I really disliked it. He noticed my expression and finally smiled. After getting scared to death, the expression was a welcome one.
“The Corporation makes hard decisions, but its main goal is to protect humans from the supernatural. I know it’s hard hearing they would let a God go free for killing humans, but they’re doing so Agents can live and keep saving as many people as possible. The Corporation has done a great deal I don’t agree with. But I understand it.”
I nodded knowing what he was getting at. I was on the fence if I wanted to work for a company that operated like that. I wanted to help save lives as much as I was able, but could I stomach the costs?
“Speaking of disagreeing with hard calls… If you do accept the job, I would prefer it if you did not work in the department Lupa oversees.” Jackalope said interrupting my thoughts.
“Lupa?” I asked trying to think if I recognized the word from somewhere.
“He’s one of the office supervisors. They decided what Agents go to what cases. He’s good at his job, but… We just don’t get along. Working for anyone would be better for you.”
I wanted to press him on what he meant but could tell he wasn’t going to say anything more. Jackalope only held back information for my benefit. If I knew what really went bump in the night, I might not be able to sleep again. And if he talked more about his previous boss, I wouldn’t be able to objectively consider taking the job.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Did they say when this interview is?” I asked, wondering what exactly was said over the phone.
He shook his head and told me a text would be sent within the next few hours with more details. I accepted that answer and decided I needed to get some rest. My stomach refused to stop hurting from stress after our encounter. Jackalope also looked exhausted. I didn’t bother him with any more questions for the rest of the day and just let him play with Pesto and take naps. I think he needed an easy day.
Because Lupa was a very busy man, our interview was arranged very late. He requested I meet him at ten PM. A worker from The Corporation knocked on my door to collect me for the meeting. I opened my front door and was taken aback after seeing the inside of an office building that should not be on the other side.
“We can connect two doorways together. I’ll show you the way to Lupa’s office.” The Agent told me in a forced cheerful tone.
He wore a suit and nailed the government agent look. I carefully stepped inside the office and didn’t want to close the door behind me. The Agent reached out and shut the door behind us. I found myself trapped and unable to back out of this meeting.
He guided us through the office space and down a few hallways until we reached a large door at the end. Large potted plants sat on each side of the door. Lupa written in golden letters made it clear who this office belonged to.
“Good luck.” The Agent said and quickly left for some other job task.
I wasn’t sure if I should go in or knock. I knocked first, and when I heard no answer, I stepped inside. A wave of hot and humid air hit my face right away. It was hard to know just how large the office space was. Each inch of it had been covered by plants. Some almost appeared alien, and others were just simple flowers. I made my way along the path and found a set of couches in the middle of the forest. Lupa sat with some reports in his hands waiting for my arrival. The only other information Jackalope gave me about this man did not at all help me prepare to see his appearance.
My friend said that despite Lupa’s height, he could be fairly menacing. I wondered if he had been joking. And why Jackalope couldn’t get along with his boss. After all, he did love rabbits. He should enjoy being around the man I stared at.
Lupa looked young, maybe mid-twenties. He wore sharp dress pants and a vest combo. The vest brown with gold accents. His hair was short and a soft brown in a style a bit too fluffy to take seriously. If he stood up, he may only come up to my waist. His pants stopped at his knees and a pair of animal legs crossed over each other. If I didn’t see his ears, I still would have known right away what kind of animal those legs belonged to. His ears stood tall on his head. So tall it added half a foot to his height.
I desperately wanted to touch his rabbit ears. He might look harmless, but I bet Lupa could break my face with a flick of a finger. He brought his golden eyes up to meet mine and I quickly sat down on the couch across from him. Gods, secret agents, and rabbit people… My life had gotten strange.
“Should I have brought a resume along?” I asked as Lupa set down the papers in his hand.
“We already know of your work experience. This meeting is mostly to answer any pressing questions you may have. I assume there are a few.” He answered in a voice that sounded far too adult for his small body.
I have enough questions to fill a book. I started with the simple ones.
“Why ask me to work here? Don’t you have a ton of other people who can do my job? Like I bet most with any career related to law enforcement must know about monsters already and could be a better choice.” I said doubting they only offered the job because I answered a question correctly.
Lupa shook his head, being very patient.
“We are very careful to ensure humans are not aware that creatures of the night are real. Since Law enforcement is more likely to encounter them, we focus our efforts on taking over such cases. Or averting their attention when needed. But on occasion, some cases are… difficult to appear natural.” He explained.
Other than erasing our memories and covering up the death, there wasn’t much they could do to make those cases normal. Even a cover-up might make the entire situation more suspicious. Was it possible for this company to erase memories? Just how much power did they hold?
“So, you want to hire me because I found out about the supernatural? But why would your company even need a CSI? Like, how would that even work? Do you arrest monsters?” I pressed.
Lupa paused trying to get his thoughts in order. There was a lot to tell me in not that much time.
“At times we are not certain if the culprit is human or a supernatural case. Sometimes bodies are found, and the police assume an animal did the damage. In reality, it was a creature hunting in the wrong area. Your job is to cover those scenes in the same way you would for a natural case. If it turns out to be a creature behind the crimes, we catch and kill them. If it is a human, we send off the collected evidence to the police to close the case.” Lupa explained in an even tone.
His calm voice sent a chill down my spine. I wasn’t fully aware of what kind of creatures were out there, but weren’t some like Jackalope? I couldn’t help but think that maybe some kind of creature killed a human in self-defense. If that happened, would they be put to death for the crime? And if that kind of situation didn’t happen, then were there just monsters out there hunting us without anyone knowing?
“You… There isn’t a prison or anything like that?” I slowly asked.
“There are places to hold creatures who are waiting to be put down. Or the ones we aren’t entirely certain of their crimes. On rare occasions, we offer the creature a job hunting down the ones who share the same crime. We lack resources. They are going to die either way, might as well be useful.”
Another chill went through my body. Lupa smiled, but on him, it looked more like a grimace. I now knew why Jackalope didn’t get along with him. This man was the type to only care about the bigger picture. He tossed my friend aside because he lacked power. No, I bet he got angry Jackalope sacrificed his ability to work for a single human. His future of saving others was cut short in exchange for my life. Lupa was good at his job. His main goal is to protect humans from supernatural threats. And he didn’t care about how many Agents needed to be used up to do so.
As much as I hated the idea of what this man stood for, I still wanted the job. If I worked for them, then maybe I could help save others. I bet they had Agents doing the crime scene documentation right now. If I freed up just one of them, then they could go and save others I couldn’t.
“I can take the job, but would it be possible to work in a different department other than yours?” I asked and braced for the reply.
Another forced smile came to Lupa’s face. Instead of small teeth, he showed off sharp fangs for half a second.
“I see Jackalope spoke about me.” He said in a slightly darker tone than before.
“He was fair. I realized we might not get along after speaking with you.”
The air grew tense at my words. Sweat started on the back of my neck and it wasn’t due to the humidity in the room. Finally, Lupa relaxed with a shrug.
“You’ll be offered cases as they come up. I’ll be the one overseeing the first few because I’m the one who offered to hire you. After a report or two on your progress, you’ll be free to bounce around whatever department you wish. There is no lack of cases needing to be covered.”
Dealing with him was almost as bad as dealing with a dark God. With that settled, I wanted to get the hell out of this room. A phone rang from somewhere inside the office giving me a reason to leave. I stood up and brushed against a large leaf of a plant I didn’t know.
“Be careful on the way out. Most of these plants are poisonous.” Lupa said and dismissed himself to disappear into the greenery.
He might have been joking but I didn’t take any changes. The same Agent that guided me along took me back to a door that led home. The idea of them being able to open a door that led to the inside of my house really didn’t wasn’t appealing. Peace of mind was worth more than convenience.
The first thing I did was head to the bathroom to wash my arm where the leaf touched. My skin red but that may be from the scrubbing. Jackalope was already in bed by the time I got back home. His new job wore him out. He often took naps while hanging out with Pesto or just trying to do chores.
I kept the bathroom light on as I walked into the hallway looking for a towel. I’d washed most of them and never put them back in the bathroom. The small closet should have a cloth or something. When I opened it, I found it empty of all the extra sheets and blankets. I found that strange. A cloth was on the floor by Jackalope’s bedroom. He left his door open a crack while he slept. I bent down to pick up the cloth and peeked inside his room. With the light from the bathroom, I saw a mountain of blankets on his bed explaining where they went.
He must be dying under all of those. I made a mental note to tell him in the morning he could turn up the heat if he got cold at night. But it wasn’t chilly at all, which I found strange. I reached out to turn off the bathroom light and my hand froze.
The idea of being in the dark scared me down to my very core. The feeling of what it was like facing that God came back. It took all my willpower to push those feelings back and not run around the house turning on all the lights.
That small moment explained why my new roommate took all the blankets he was able. He’d gone into the darkness alone and lost pieces of himself. The cold blackness would always follow him. He wasn’t able to keep the lights on at night without me asking questions, so he kept the coldness away. He also refused to ever speak about this. I knew he didn’t want me to regret the fact he saved my life.
I didn’t know how to approach the topic. But I couldn’t let him suffer at night like this. The next day I worked a regular job. It felt odd seeing a hoarder’s death as just a normal day after everything I’d seen. I went shopping on the way home.
I caught Jackalope before he went to bed. I showed him the two items I picked up that day. A heated blanket and block of glass with a rabbit on the inside. If you put the glass over a small light base, it makes the image appear 3D. He understood why I gave them these random gifts, but neither of us spoke about it. He just thanked me and went to sleep, this time with a light inside his room and warm without feeling weight pressing down on him.
I knew if I accepted the job at The Corporation, I would be exposed to more dangerous and terrifying things. Jackalope said it was a pretty safe job, and yet my life would be in danger depending on the cases. Still, I wanted to do my best to put an end to any case even remotely similar to the Clipped body deaths.
I said I wanted to make a difference in my life. And this was one way on how to do it.