The G.A.M.E - Prologue

Location: Drecaster City, Endo

October 22, 9:32pm

It was a cool, crisp autumn night as a lone man hurried down a dimly lit driveway. The man was in his late forties, the crown of his head starting to bald due to a mixture of bad genes and old age. He wore a cheap, ill-fitting suit that did little to conceal his beer gut, the light scuff of the man’s faded black dress shoes was all that one could hear in the otherwise dark and quiet length of driveway.

A howl echoed in the distance and the man quickened his pace, the light sheen of sweat on his brow not attributed to just the physical exertion.

He glanced down at the shoulder bag that he had clutched to his front for the umpteenth time since being dropped off at the edge of Cross’ property because he didn’t exactly get clearance to drive any sort of vehicle onto the property due to coming on such short notice. He had sent out an email barely twelve hours before showing up in person, which could mean that Cross hadn’t even had the time to either open or read the email before he came knocking. The man could only hope that he wasn’t turned away at the door, this was a last ditch effort to save his town and it’s occupants from whatever beast was plaguing them.

The man slowed in both relief and apprehension as the house finally came into view. Well, he called it a house, but it’s resemblance was closer to one of the castles that the Sovereign lived in, just on a much smaller scale. The structure was three stories high and ominously loomed over him. The building had a simple shingle roof and the walls were painted different shades of gray that helped blend the house with the strange tower-like stone attachment to the structure. It was truly a sight to behold, the man’s gaze sweeping over its splendor as he cautiously scampered across the walkway to creep up the steps, which moaned in protest when he climbed them.

He stretched a shaking hand out to weakly knock on the large oak door, the echo ringing in his ears as he anxiously waited, half of him praying that no one answered. He had no such luck however, because after a moment, the lock turned with a muffled click and the front door was swiftly pulled inward by a blond man in a tailored suit. The stranger's eyes are concealed by round, mirrored sunglasses that had the human staring at his own fearful expression.

Although, he could tell that the tall stranger was looking at him because the blond had shifted his stance into more of an intimidating loom, causing the hair on the back of the human’s neck to stand on end. Thankfully, the tall man straightened up after a few tense moments, allowing the sweaty stranger to get a good look at the other male’s black and white zebra-striped suit before a flash of vibrant color had him looking down at the blond’s neon pink dress shoes.

“State your business.” The blond’s tone was light, but there was no mistaking that the words were indeed a command.

“My name is Trevor Johnson and I… I require Mr. Cross’ assistance.” The man -now known as Trevor- fidgeted nervously, the blond had a dominating presence that seemed to hover in the air like a thick fog.

“You’re looking at him.” The tall stranger mused as a wide, chilling grin curled onto his unnaturally pale lips and Trevor’s eyes widened.

“I assume that you have a pest you would like me to take care of?” Cross waited until Trevor nodded to step back, opening the door wider in a clear invitation.

“Come in.” The blond hummed, beckoning Trevor to enter with a wave of his hand. The human hesitated until Cross delicately set a finger onto the dark rim of his sunglasses to push them to the tip of his nose, displaying his vibrant bubblegum pink eyes.

“If you’re going to back out, tell me now so I don’t waste my time.” Cross said pleasantly, his assessing gaze a physical force. And, not trusting his voice, Trevor opted to answer by scrambling over the threshold. He paused in the entryway to openly gape at the decor within as Cross deftly adjusted his glasses to conceal his eyes once more. As expected, everything looked both organized and very expensive.

Trevor’s appreciation was unceremoniously cut short when Cross brushed past him, sauntering confidently down a seemingly random dead-end hallway. And, despite his numerous reservations, Trevor hurried after the freakishly tall male, trying to keep up with Cross’ long strides as the taller man made a quick turn and stepped into what was clearly an office.

The first thing that drew Trevor’s eyes were the built-in bookshelves that lined the walls all the way around the circular room. His gaze paused on the sturdy wood desk and padded red velvet swivel chair that were a few paces from the door before sliding over to a circle rug that was dyed a deep crimson, the color reminiscent of dried blood. The macabre carpet lay in the center of the room with a black-framed glass coffee table, soft gray couch, and a black leather chair placed accordingly with the rug. The last thing in the room was a fireplace that was installed in a break in the shelves, the appliance strategically placed right across from the door.

Trevor was startled from his uneasy observation of the room when Cross settled into the leather chair, one long leg elegantly crossing over the other before his laced fingers settled atop his raised knee. The blond tilted his head at Trevor, his own skittish posture reflected in the lenses.

“Sit.” Cross made a pointed gesture at the sofa across from where he sat. Trevor obediently shuffled over to the indicated furniture and sunk onto it, admitting in the privacy of his own mind that it was actually quite comfortable.

“What brings you to my home, Mr. Johnson?” Cross carefully fussed with the silky tie that matched his shoes before looking up at the other male with a raised eyebrow, that unnerving smile unfaltering.

“Well, I- Uh. I’m the Viceroy of the town next to your territory, and… and people have been going missing for the past few weeks-” Trevor fumbled through an explanation, abruptly interrupted by Cross when the blond’s maniacal expression dropped into a disappointed grimace.

“Sounds boring. Carmen will show you out.” Trevor’s jaw dropped, unable to give voice to his protests before a hand clamped onto his shoulder. He braved a look up and just as quickly regretted his decision seeing as the man behind him was arguably more intimidating than Cross.

The unexpected appearance of a third party was jarring, the man that had come out of literally nowhere was visibly shorter than the blond but still quite a bit taller than Trevor. His long inky black hair was tied up in a low ponytail in order to keep the dark strands out of his face and his angry gray-blue eyes were trained on the rapidly paling Trevor. The new arrival wore a simple black tank-top with equally dark jeans, compact muscles straining against the tight fabric. His muscular body was on full display, his silver dog tags softly clinking together over a nasty scar that spanned across the entirety of the man’s throat… as if someone had slit it.

A chill ran down Trevor's spine at the grisly conclusion that his brain had come to, but it was the one that made the most sense considering Cross’ field of expertise.

“Wait, wait! I’m begging you!” Trevor ducked out from under Carmen's hand before dropping down to grovel on his knees, clasping his hands together and bowing his head. When the silence dragged on, Trevor dared to raise his bowed head in order to cautiously peek at the blond’s reaction, wincing at Cross’ annoyed frown.

“What could you possibly offer me for my aid? My assistance doesn’t come cheap.” Cross sneered, but held up a staying hand to Carmen to halt his advance on the cowering human.

“I… I have money! Name your price! Just please, please help us!” Trevor pleaded and Cross’ ominous smile returned with a ferocity that had Trevor second-guessing his thoughtless declaration, the blond’s head tilting in amusement as his lithe pointer finger moved up to his face, the smooth pad resting upon his sharp cheekbone in thought.

“Alright… I suppose I could be charitable. I require 15,000 coin for my intervention.”

Mr. Johnson raised his head to balk at Cross, jaw hanging open at the amount that was demanded.

“What! That’s ridiculous!” Trevor raked a large, clammy hand through what little hair he still had, leaning back on his haunches.

“That’s my offer, take it or find someone else to solve your problem.” Cross mused with an indifferent shrug, peering down at Trevor with inhuman eyes that all but glowed in the dim light that the flames crackling away in the hearth gave off.

“I don’t have that much with me…” Trevor haltingly murmured, almost fearing the response that his admission would garner. Surprisingly, Cross didn’t immediately order Carmen to forcibly remove him from the premises.

“I suppose I can allow an upfront fee of 25%.” The blond shrugged with a nonchalance that caught Trevor off-guard, Cross not seeming all that bothered that the human wasn’t able to pay the full amount right away. Unfortunately, Trevor had no idea what a quarter of 15,ooo coin was, and there was no paper or pen nearby in order to calculate it.

“That’s going to be 3,750 coin.”

As if reading his mind, Cross supplied the answer to the very thing that Trevor had been agonizing over.

“Okay… Okay. Here.” Trevor retrieved a leather pouch from his shoulder bag, twisting to haltingly put it onto the coffee table next to his kneeling form.

Without a single word or gesture from Cross, Carmen steps away from Trevor’s back and picks the pouch up. He loosened the braided leather tie keeping it cinched closed and plucked a gold coin out to examine, seemingly satisfied with what he discovered, deftly tossed the coin back into the small bag before nodding at Cross.

“Lovely. Now, judging on how you were even able to find me, I expect you have what I need?”

Trevor fidgeted with the bag’s strap for a moment of hesitation before pulling the accessory up over his head and opening it. He stuck his meaty hand in and rooted around, retrieving a folded map of his town to lay out onto the coffee table. Diego leaned over it, lifting a slender finger to pull his sunglasses down to rest on the tip of his nose. He scrutinized the layout of the -admittedly- small town of Yhore for a moment before he addressed Trevor.

“Tell me everything you know about your situation so I can make a file for one of my teams. Leave nothing out, no matter how small or insignificant the detail may seem.”

Trevor huffed a laugh in overwhelming relief and took a seat once more as Carmen left the room with the initial payment.

“We… Well like I said before, our townsmen have been disappearing over the last few weeks-”

Cross cut in a glare that could freeze molten lava.

“What did I tell you, Mr. Johnson?” Cross mused, his smile suddenly far more toothy than what was strictly friendly.

“Right… Right, the disappearances started exactly two weeks and four days ago around this area.” Trevor leaned forward to dutifully circle his finger around the corresponding patch of woods on the provided map before continuing. “The first victims were three hunting buddies who left early that morning and didn’t return home. They’re still missing.” Trevor supplied weakly and Cross hummed in thought, his fingers drumming on the arm of the leather chair as he scrutinized the map.

“You said victims. As in, more than one has been taken at a time. So this creature -or group of creatures- are able to take multiple people at once. Have any bodies turned up?”

Trevor jolted in his seat when the blond stood with a flourish and sauntered over to the nearest bookshelf to pull out a book that had nothing but a slightly darker imprint of an intricate cross on the leather cover.

“N… No. Nothing except for trails of blood that suddenly vanish after a mile or so into the woods.”

Cross flipped through the pages of the book for a few seconds before looking up again.

“No caves near the trails or anything that looks like a hole?” He asked and Trevor shook his head. “Has anyone had a glimpse of the creature that is snatching people?” Cross’ lips thin into a tight line when Trevor shakes his head yet again.

“Not anyone that’s still around, it attacks at any time of day. The only thing people hear that signifies that the creature struck is the victim’s screams.” The human recalls woefully and Cross sticks his nose back into the book.

“So it’s not wary of daylight. Does it have a victim preference? Blondes? Brunettes? Men, women, children?” Cross murmurs distractedly.

“The only thing anyone’s noticed is that it doesn’t appear to target kids.”

Cross’ head snapped up, neon pink eyes practically glowing with interest.

“Really now? Only adults… which are eighteen and up for humans, yes?” Trevor was more than happy to nod for once, watching as Cross rapidly flipped through the pages. “I think I’ve found your monster. And I know just the team to take care of it.”

Trevor leaned back in equal parts relief and surprise when Cross expertly twisted the book around with deft fingers, all but shoving the book into Trevor’s pale face. The page on the left had an ominous depiction of a one-eyed beast that had been drawn in excruciating detail with ink, while the remaining page had an array of hand-written notes about anything and everything to do with the monster in the picture.

“W… What is it?”

“Your beast is a Cyclops. A Throng of them is more likely just going by the sheer number of deaths that have occurred.” Cross stated confidently and Trevor opened and closed his mouth multiple times, uncomprehending. Cross sighed and snapped the book shut before carefully setting it beside the map.

“H… How do you know it’s a Cyclops?” Trevor finally managed to squeak out, side-eyeing what he suspected to be one of the infamous journals like the leather-bound book might suddenly come to life and eat him. There were rumors about Cross and his journals, people whispering about how Cross had experimented on every supernatural creature he stumbled across in his youth before dutifully recording his findings in a series of books.

“It’s simple really. When you said no bodies were found, I already had a list. Troll, Gargoyle, Wendigo, and Cyclops. Now, my second hint was when you said it could attack at any time of day, so that crossed off Trolls, they turn to stone in sunlight. Then Gargoyles because they sleep during the day. So that left Wendigo or Cyclops. The bit that gave it away was the fact it didn’t harm children. Cyclops have a strange affinity for the young and won’t lay a finger on them. Other than kidnapping them, of course.” Cross explained, looking quite smug.

“The fact that no one has seen these Cyclops is easily explained. They’re usually made of the earth itself. Dirt, clay, rock, trees, grass, vines… you name it. This makes their movement surprisingly silent despite their typically monstrous size. The trail of blood most likely disappeared because Cyclops have dens underground that are basically a maze of tunnels with multiple entrances.” Cross concluded, lounging back against the leather cushions in satisfaction.

Trevor was at a loss as to how to respond, it was exactly as the rumors said, the man was a genius.

“The earliest my team will be available is two weeks from now, can you hold out till then?” Cross inquired and Trevor wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he immediately nodded. That creepy smirk was on Diego’s lips once again, pearly white canines flashing. “Good, they will arrive in the morning no later than nine o’clock. If they’re late, I’ll give you a 1,000 coin reduction on your fee. I also expect that they are given any and all supplies they require to take care of your infestation. Sound fair?” Cross questioned and Trevor merely nodded again, not trusting his voice.

Cross pushed out of his chair in order to stride over to his desk and retrieve what was clearly a contract, laying it in front of Trevor before offering the nervous man a pen. After he signed it, Cross snapped his fingers and Carmen appeared at the blond’s side between one blink and the next.

“Please show our client out and be sure he makes it home safely.” Cross phrased it like a suggestion, but the undercurrent of steel made the order unmistakable. Carmen nodded curtly and the blond smiled at Trevor, waving a dismissive pale hand at him.

Trevor reached out to take the map, pausing when Diego chuckled.

“I’m going to have to insist on keeping the map, my team will need to familiarize themselves with the terrain and note possible entrances to the den.” Cross snatched up the paper and delicately folded it, tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket, and Trevor figured there was no safer place for the map to be.

“You’re in good hands, I assure you. You can pay the remaining amount after the assignment is complete or my team can help set up monthly installments. It’s your choice.” Cross mused and Trevor stood, vocalizing his thanks, before following Carmen out of the office.

Upon leaving, Trevor and his escort nearly ran into a trio of young adults that were heading toward Cross’ office. The pinched features of the lone female and one of the men indicated that they had been arguing, but all three had all fallen eerily silent once Trevor’s presence was noticed. They blatantly watched him with sharp eyes, distrustful and curious all at once. Trevor kept his own gaze aimed forward, resisting the almost overwhelming urge to study the trio. This was the last official dragon clan on record, after all.

Some curiosity about the elusive clan members was expected, but staring could provoke them and then Trevor would be in some serious trouble, so he kept his eyes averted. But, even so, it was hard not to notice that two of the three young adults had red hair. The shade was akin to blood, far too bright for the pair to be anything other than a supernatural. He had never been this close to such a formidable supernatural before, his town was majorly made up of humans like himself. Though, a small portion of the town’s population was the less hostile and dangerous supernaturals, such as Fae and Selkie.

Trevor was unceremoniously ripped out of his thoughts when hand clamped onto the back of his neck, careful but firm. Trevor hadn’t even realized that he had stopped walking until Carmen began to guide him down the hall using the fairly threatening hold on his neck. The trio was long gone, their swift departure from the vicinity announced with the echoing thud of a heavy door.

The trek to the entrance felt far longer than the initial walk to the office, but the pair did eventually arrive at their destination.

“Are you ready Mr. Johnson?” Carmen grunted and, not trusting his voice, Trevor nodded and reached out to pull the door open before stepping out into the biting night air.