"So that's everything then? I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Bridges."

I lowered my head, gazing at the floor as I forced a few tears. "Thank you, officer. I've been working for Mr. Richmond nearly my whole life. It feels so empty now without him here."

"Well look at the bright side, I can confidently say that everything he owned will be going to you. William Richmond had no living relatives and you're the only one who has worked here for more than three years. You'll have all his things to remember him by."

I looked up at the man, giving him a small smile. He grabbed his things before heading to the door with me following behind. I opened the door for him. He smiled and tipped his hat slightly.

"Have a good day, miss."

He quietly left without another word. I shut the door and immediately grinned.

"Yes! This is perfect! It's all working out just like I planned!"

The disappearance of my master, William Richmond, happened about a week ago. The other servants began searching all over for him, but finally had to give up and let me report it to the police.

In that time, I've been left to my own devices. I've been able to learn and understand the full extent of my abilities. I've also met that long clawed creature multiple times now, and while killing it for revenge would be fun, I get more satisfaction out of watching it run from me in an injured, terrified state.

So every time I catch it skulking around for scraps of my meal or challenging me, I always enjoy teaching it a lesson.

I've also been hearing more and more rumors and tales of the four survivors of my rampage a week ago. Seems I'll have to track them down and find things out for myself.

But for now, I called the others who worked here and had them help me rearrange some of the things in the house, even letting them take a few things to keep for themselves. Once we were done, I met with them all in the living room.

"Thank you all so much for your help. Mr. Richmond may be gone, and we may never know what happened to him, but he will live on in our memories."

"So what do we do now?" Mark asked in a sad tone.

With my hands on my hips, I replied, "That's easy. Go home and find yourselves new jobs."

"What?!" Katie yelled while jumping out of her seat. "You're firing us?!"

"If that's how you want to look at it, yes," I replied simply. "I'm in charge now and I have no need of your services. I'm sorry, but that's just the way things are."

Before Katie could argue, Mark stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We understand. Thank you, Marlow."

He ushered the other servants out with him. They all quietly left with no complaints about my decision. I took my time and looked around the house at some of the rooms. The cellar had been cleared out and Mr. Richmond's bedroom had been turned into a game room for my own entertainment.

I then went to the study, the only place I hadn't let anyone touch. Everything in the room was exactly the same as it was a week ago. Even the books and papers strewn across the desk remained in their place.

I sighed to myself and began arranging the piles of papers when my eyes landed on the small rock lying on the desk. The same little rock that gave me this scar. Why Mr. Richmond had kept this odd stone, I have no idea. Seems pretty worthless to me.

I stretched my hand out to pick up the rock and cradled the object in my palm. I scrunched my nose in slight disgust as I stared at it.

"What garbage. To think something so small could scar me for life."

I set it back down and left the room. After a short while, I headed out into town. You'd be surprised by what you can learn just by eavesdropping on others. As I passed by people and stores, I watched and listened for any useful information.

"Hey, have you heard? There have been recent sightings of the Nightstalker."

I stopped, glancing around to see a couple of boys that looked a bit younger than me talking in front of an electronics store. Nightstalker? For some reason, that sounds vaguely familiar to me.

"Really? Woah, better be careful going out after dark then."

"Definitely. But it would be so cool to catch a glimpse of it! They say that its as black as the night and it moves so fast that you can't even see it coming."

My eyes widened slightly as I pretended to be fiddling with something in my pocket. Whatever they're talking about sounds like me when I'm in that beast form. This is something I need to look into.

I continued on my way and headed straight to the local library. I found myself in a small section of books about old folklores and mysteries in this area. One book in particular caught my eye. I quickly picked it out and sat myself at a small table in a corner.

Opening it up, I skimmed through the pages until I found what I was looking for. My eyes widened as I stared down at the picture. The black furred beast had a long, thin body and legs along with a long, bushy tail. It had a narrow snout full of small teeth and large, owl-like eyes.

I placed my hand on the picture. The Nightstalker. Now I remember hearing about this old legend before. I admit, it does look a lot like my monstrous form, except I don't have fur and my snout isn't that small.

My fangs are also much bigger than that, more like a snake's. And my eyes are more cat-like with slit pupils, not at all like in the picture.

But of course I didn't expect it to be an exact resemblance. I guess that's basically what my form is though. A Nightstalker. My eyes then went to the description of it.

'The Nightstalker is a fast, agile beast that roams the night. Stalking its victims in complete darkness, it quickly hones in on its prey before ripping them to shreds with its large claws and razor sharp teeth. With its acute hearing, sense of smell, and perfect night vision, there is little to no escape from this terrifying carnivore.'

Hmm, this description sounds pretty accurate. I turned a few pages to see another familiar creature. The long clawed humanoid creature on the page caused my eyes to narrow. I quickly scanned over the monster's summary.

The Rake, huh? Now I know what to call you. You may be scary to these normal people, but I'm not normal. It's actually the other way around. The Rake fears me.

I continued reading through the things that picked my interest in this book. By the time I was finished, I realized it was getting dark outside. I closed the book and put it back on the shelf before quietly leaving the library.

Now that night has fallen, I think it's time I get the full story on those survivors. There's only one place I can get that kind of information. The police department.