Chapter 1: Monsters

"Yes, I'm walking there," said a tall man covered in a thick jacket as he called through one of the deserted, cold alleyways of Lambridge Saint.

The narrow street looked creepy and dark even though it had one light. James couldn't help but pass through the street because of a call from his friend John. A man who promised to give him a little money after James' move to this city.

James was finally able to move to work in this city, the same city as his girlfriend, after a year of being in different cities. He made a good contract with a motorcycle company, which was not a bad start for James. It's just that James ran out of money while organizing his move, making it necessary for him to get some quick cash. Luckily, his high school friend John was generous enough to lend him three hundred dollars. But still, why walk to his house through a dark place like this? The taxi dropped James off at the end of the street, not wanting to go through Lambridge Saint.

Suddenly, James was startled by a man grabbing his wrist, pulling him into a dark corner. His back neck was then gripped firmly by the man.

"What the hell?" cried James wanting to rebel. But the man had James in a chokehold in no time, pushing him up against the alley wall.

"You fucking creature..." he said with his face close to James'. His breath was ragged, reeking of alcohol.

James felt the pressure on his neck, making it difficult to breathe. His blood felt like it was rising.

"You're a monster! You must be a monster! There are monsters! All monsters!" he shouted in front of James' face.

"Ukh..let go! si..who...y-you...?" whimpered James trying to release the hand around his neck.

James fought back by kicking the man backwards until James was released. James took a breath, regaining control of his blurred consciousness.

"Ukk...asshole! What do you want, huh?" James' eyes watered slightly, having held his breath during the strangulation.

The man got back up, grabbed James' hand again, and pushed James' body to the ground. The man clenched his fists, standing firm, not letting James escape.

 "There are monsters. Everyone will die, I will die, and so will you!" the man said, shaking slightly.

"Bastard! You want to kill me?"

The man smiled sinisterly. Scratching his face and glaring at James.

"Psychopath! Are you crazy?" snapped James.

"The body....he ate it. The flesh was torn apart....you think I'm crazy?" the man lunged at James again, knocking him to the ground.

"Damn it! Get out of my way!" thrashed James.

He choked James even harder. James flailed at the man's hands, but he didn't budge an inch.

"I'm not crazy! I'm a Harvard graduate! I won't let only me die! Monsters like you have to die too!"

"Ack...I'm not a monster! I'm human!" snarled James; he punched the man in the ribs, making him roll to the side.

The man immediately got up, staring at James sharply. James wanted to run, but he was transfixed by the man's gaze.

"You're not a monster? Liar! I saw it! Everyone is eating greedily!"

That man is crazy! How much alcohol did he drink? To go to such extremes and rant like this?

He then took out a penknife from his pocket. James glared in shock at the thin steel. He wanted to run, but he froze.

"I don't want to die alone...you need to die with me, monster!"

Before the man could do anything to James, a policeman fired a hot lead, piercing his chest right through his heart. Blood splattered onto the ground and James' face.

James trembled, looking around for the direction of the shot. A policeman stood holding a black pistol magazine. A moment later, he ran over to James.

"Sir, are you alright?" the policeman asked, crouching down.

James' eyes were blank, focusing only on the blood splattering on the ground. He couldn't hear anything, only a loud buzzing in his ears. His brain suffered a massive shock attack after seeing the shooting.

The policeman grabbed James' shoulders, shaking them to bring him back to consciousness.

"... Sir! Sir! Are you okay? Sir!" the policeman's exclamation began to ring in James' ears.

"Huh...? Me?" James felt dazed.

"Sir, can you hear me?"

"Ugh...yes..." James whispered.

James felt his whole body cold. Colder than ever. The attack had made him scared and paranoid.

"You're lucky to be alive, Sir. He's a psychopathic serial killer. If I had come later, you might have been in big trouble," the policeman said.

"Psychopath? A serial killer?" James still couldn't think properly.

"The police have been after this guy, Markus Flint, for a long time. He has tortured more than ten people and killed them. It's a good thing you survived."

James held his forehead, he sat up, unable to look at the blood. His face turned deathly pale, frightened by what he had just experienced.

"Monsters..." he whimpered.

"Monster? Are you all right, Sir?" the policeman patted James on the back.

"Uh..." James looked terrified.

Seeing James' shocked condition, the policeman decided to call some of his colleagues to take care of the psychopath's corpse and take James home. He picked up the transmitting radio and sent messages to the central base.

 "My friends and I will take care of this. You can go home to calm down."

*

James entered his house with his hands still shaking. I don't know why he only felt pain in some parts of his body now due to the struggle with the psychopath earlier.

He wanted to go to bed immediately, resting his already chaotic body and mind. But her body was very dirty from the fight on the street earlier. 

"Uh...shit..." he grumbled, taking off his jacket. He needed to shower first before he could go to bed in peace.

When he removed his jacket, he found a piece of paper falling out of it. James didn't remember putting the paper there. He picked it up, looking at the contents.

[Viseconte Funeral Home, 12pm. Come, I will reveal the secret of the monster there]

 "Does this belong to that psychopath?" thought James. 

He recalled what the psychopath had said earlier about monsters. The madman said he saw monsters, even accusing James of being a monster.

James felt curious about this. What did the psycho say, and what was his purpose in attacking him? And why was the paper in his pocket?

 "Are there really monsters? But is it possible? Monsters in Visconte? Maybe the psychopath was right..." 

James tapped his fingers in thought. Wondering whether he would go to that place or not. But in the end, curiosity won out.

Before long, James was in a taxi to the Visconte Funeral Home. The ride took about thirty minutes.

James got off in front of a three-story building with a large sign above the door that read 'Visconte Funeral Home'. James then held the handle of the entrance door. Strangely, the door was unlocked, allowing James to enter freely.

The building was so dark James had to use the flashlight on his smartphone to light his way.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

No one answered. James walked deeper inside. The sound of mice squeaking and walking back and forth, looking for a little food that might be in the room. 

James stopped walking. He heard chewing sounds in a side room. The corpse room. James thought someone was there.

The man opened the door to the room. A foul, fishy odour instantly hit James' nose. He covered his nose because of the strong smell. James then shone a light into the room, curious about the source of the smell.

"Oh my God..." James was wide-eyed at what he saw.

James saw it clearly. Blood splattered everywhere. The sound of mouths chewing greedily sounded like terror. Human flesh was being torn apart by the sharp teeth of a creature dressed as a funeral home staff.

James trembled, afraid to see the creatures moaning at each other over the flesh of the newly dead human, the psychopath who had attacked him earlier.