PRESENT

After they'd arrived at the department, Erwin created a file about Metin Adigüzel, married, father of two children. The other victim remained Unknown.

Erwin hoped for more witnesses, people who might've noticed unusual occurrences or persons when awaiting their train's arrival, who might be able to describe the perps to some degree; he'd be happy with just about anything. After all, it was only a question of time until the press would get involved, and that was when the clock would actually start ticking.

Still caught up in his thoughts, Erwin automatically reached for his phone. He went through his contacts and easily found his mother's phone number. For a few seconds, he stared at the screen, his thumb hovering over the digits.

I have a new lead.

Was that a good way to start a conversation? He'd have to go through some small talk at least before addressing the matter. Also, his mother had always preferred good news over bad news (who didn't?), but what Erwin considered a major break-through, she would frown upon.

Haven't we suffered enough, Erwin?

All of a sudden, the number became blurry, and the digits started changing colours, floating around, switching places.

Another time. Another time.

A soft thump made Erwin look up. Nanaba had approached him with two mugs of coffee and set one of them down next to his computer. »I believe someone needs a mood brightener.«

»I do,« he muttered and sat up, quickly locking his phone. He wrapped his hands around the boiling hot porcelain to warm his cool fingers. »Thanks.«

»No problem.« She pulled a chair from one of the other desks and sat down. »Any new evidence?«

»We'll have to wait for the autopsy report. A lot of things will also clear up tomorrow morning.«

»Right.« Nanaba pointedly looked at the open window on Erwin's desktop. »You know, today could've been a cosy Saturday night.« She shook her head. »Everything was perfect. We went out for dinner, Mike prepared a bath for me, and just as we started to watch The Proposal ─«

»Love that movie.«

»Because you got to see a nude scene with Sandra Bullock?«

Erwin paused. »Sure.«

»Well, that's when the call came in. It's impossible to have an active dating life with this job.«

»Pretty much,« Erwin answered, framing the brim of his mug with his thumb. His fingers burnt from the heat the coffee was giving off.

»Hey, are you okay?«

Erwin nodded. »Yeah. I mean, I'm a little tired.«

»Aren't we all?« she joked. Since he fell quiet again, Nanaba added, »You have something on your mind, I can tell.«

Erwin looked at the desktop again. »I have a theory. But I'm still working on it.«

»Schmidt,« Zackly called out to him, standing in the doorway of his office. »Where's the report about the fight in that bar you mentioned earlier?«

»On it,« Erwin answered, reaching for a file on his desk and standing up. »Duty calls. Keep theorising.«

Nanaba gave a reassuring nod, so Erwin headed to Zackly's office. Other than the rest of them, Zackly had his own space, albeit a small one with joyless, pale walls. Someday, Erwin would take his place, maybe sitting in that exact spot, ordering officers around.

Someday.

Without looking up from his laptop, Zackly noted, »Double homicide. You must be thrilled.«

»Sir, that would be highly inappropriate.«

Not impressed, Zackly looked up at him with his dull owl eyes, tourmalines that could tell lie from truth. »Very well,« he continued, »the department will provide resources required for the investigation. Include the team, they're more than capable to help. Since the autopsy reports will take some time, I suggest you look through some old files and see whether you can find a pattern. This doesn't look like it was done by an amateur.«

»I agree.«

»Also, this case is going to gain a lot of media attention. The matter must be handled with discretion and delicacy. Are we clear?«

»Yes, Sir.«

They were interrupted by the receiver on Zackly's desk, a red-light blinking indicating that an important message was coming through. »I have Officer Gunther Schulz on the line. I'm going to direct you, now.«

»Yes, please,« Zackly replied, gesturing a writing movement as a way to make Erwin take notes.

»This is Officer Schulz, taking the pursuit of two suspected abductors,« Schultz announced. »I'm following a Volvo XC40, black, Friedrich, Anton, Ida, Four, Seven, One. Could you check that out for me?«

»On it,« Zackly replied after Erwin had written the plate number down. »Could you describe what has happened?«

»The two men were dragging a girl into said vehicle, she was clearly trying to fight them off. I haven't intervened yet, calling for back-up. I'm down the A66, most likely heading towards Höchst.«

»We'll be there in a minute.«

»Both driver and passenger are wearing black suits, average built, most likely armed. Alleged abductee has light, red hair and wears a black hoodie and jeans, still a teenager, around fifteen, height about 1,60. They seem to be moving in a convoy, there's another car ahead.«

»How would you estimate the situation?«

»Stable, as for now. I'm going to follow them until they reach the anticipated location. If I intervene, they might endanger the traffic. My suggestion, send a tactical team.«

»Noted,« Zackly told him. »Is there a possibility this might be connected to the murders that occurred today?«

»I will say, it's not that unlikely.«

»Keep us updated,« Zackly ordered. After the whirr of the line had died down, he stood up, pushed past Erwin, and raised his voice.

»Attention, everyone,« he said, to which the chatter in the precinct lapsed into silence. »We have a hostage situation. I want every present officer in tactical gear until yesterday.«

Since the officers only stared at Zackly, confused, he barked, »Go! Go!«

•  •  •

Chaos was Erwin's daily business. Someone broke the law, he cleared up the mess by bringing them to justice. He stabilised an expectation, as Niklas Luhmann had defined the law. Not the consequence (punishment) was crucial for its efficacy but whether society either gave up on the rule or held on to it. Because all laws relied on nothing but society's belief in them.

A social construct.

Erwin didn't know why he was thinking about social constructs as the transporter sped down the A66. His colleagues, who would've normally fought the urge to fall asleep on top of their desks, were now wide-awake and alarmed, their senses and minds sharpened. Their uniforms blended with the never-ending darkness of the night, granting them both confidence and anxiety.

The adventure continued.

Erwin tried to scratch his neck under his helmet, but the heavy material pressed against his skin uncomfortably. He'd expected a similar feeling of apprehension, but an odd calmness had settled within him, instead. As though his usually irrational body had now synced with his brain.

The transporter halted in a deserted industrial area, surrounded by weathered warehouses and factories, built of decades-old, vermilion bricks. Splattered across the zone were containers and pallets, most windows smashed, dirty and covered in dust, which made this place a perfect hide-out for any kind of secret business.

Schulz had reported that he'd been observing the anticipated building from a distance. Though the entrances were apparently unguarded (Erwin assumed, to not draw attention), it wouldn't surprise him if the abductors had made security arrangements.

»Officer Schulz has spotted three possible entrances which must all be secured. One team will remain outside and make sure no one leaves or enters unauthorised. The other will search the building. If we'll need a negotiator, one of the teams will provide one.«

As Zackly continued to explain their strategy, the outlines of a plan formed in Erwin's mind. If this had to do anything with the murders in the underground, maybe the peculiar creature would be there, as well. In that case, he'd prefer to go in silent over loud and aggressive.

His colleagues had raised their eyebrows at the witnesses' statements and their vivid descriptions of red flashes, but Erwin knew there was more to this. They had to handle the matter even more carefully, now.

»Permission to make a suggestion?« Erwin questioned after his superior had finished.

Zackly's eyes darted over to Erwin. »Yes, Erwin Know-It-All Schmidt, enlighten us.«

The other officers turned toward him, awaiting his proposal.

»This is a very delicate situation. If we storm the building, we might provoke a shootout and lose the girl mid-operation,« he explained. »Let me or another officer enter the building first and estimate the situation. After we've gained enough information, we can discuss next steps.«

Despite meeting Erwin's disrespect with scorn and derision, Zackly always appreciated his officers' input and took their ideas into consideration. He was no fool to assume his judgement was impeccable.

»Elaborate.«

»We still don't know exactly how many people are involved, whether they're armed, if there are more abductees, what the location of the girl is, and what their means of escape are.«

»That would mean, you'd be entirely on your own. No one would be protecting you. You might be caught and taken hostage, or worse, severely injured or killed.«

»I'll take that risk.« Since Zackly still didn't appear convinced, Erwin argued, »We're dealing with highly dangerous abductors who might be involved in a murder. Schulz said it himself.« Determination swelled in his voice. »We can't just go in there, blindly.«

The commissioner rubbed his beard, weighing cost and benefit. »I still can't send you in on your own. You'll need another officer to volunteer themselves to back you up, at least.«

Erwin looked over to Mike, who shook his head in an immediate.

The other officers lowered their gazes but Nanaba, whose face told Erwin that she was pondering their options. When her eyes jumped over to Erwin for a second, Erwin gave a firm, encouraging nod.

»I volunteer,« she decided, her navy eyes flickering with worry as well as purpose. »I agree with Erwin, we can't run in there unprepared.«

»No!« Mike intervened. »Then, I volunteer more.«

»You can't volunteer ›more‹,« Nanaba complained, furrowing her brow, and repeating to Zackly, »Commissioner, he can't volunteer more.«

»I'll go. You can stay here, safe and sound.«

»That is not for you to say. I'm more than capable of ─«

»Enough,« Zackly interrupted them. »We don't have time for this. Officer Zacharias is going.«

»But ─«

»End of discussion,« Zackly demanded, then turned to Erwin and Mike. »You have twenty minutes. If you haven't found anything that could help us until then, we'll storm the building. If anything goes sideways, we'll storm the building. Do you understand?«

»Yes, Sir.«

•  •  •

The walk to the building was quiet. They snuck through a narrow sideway to avoid drawing attention, and soon they arrived at an unassuming metal door in the back of the building. A silencer muffled the sound of the shot Erwin fired at its weak, rusty lock.

The door opened with a soft creak when Erwin pulled the handle, and he gestured for Mike to enter. »After you.«

»Knock it off, already.«

Erwin fell silent. He considered stressing that Micheal had brought this upon himself, but he assumed he didn't want to hear that.

Before he could push through the door, Mike held him back once more, »Erwin.«

Erwin halted.

»Don't get distracted. Stay focused.«

»I will.«

Mike's pupils twitched from one side to the other, searching Erwin's face for signs of insincerity. But Erwin knew how to prevent emotion from betraying his expression.

»Okay.«

Slipping in before his partner, Erwin found an empty corridor lined with several doors, Mike followed. Faint, flickering light illuminated the space, electricity buzzing in their ears. The air was thick with dust and the smell of old wallpapers.

Moving toward the end of the hall, the two of them checked each door for noise, then cleared each room and inspected the space for conspicuities. It seemed this was supposed to be a corporate facility with multiple offices. However, it lay empty, walls torn out, windows strewn with aged water stains, and concrete lying bare beneath their feet, a construction zone that had never been sculpted into its final product.

The corridor opened out into a labyrinth of halls and doors on several floors. Twenty minutes wouldn't be enough if they didn't hurry.

Erwin gestured for them to split up, at which Mike showed him a disapproving grimace. With an apologetic look, Erwin pointed at his wrist, mimicking the movement of tapping a watch.

Mike hesitated, scepticism written all over his face. However, he gave a compliant nod and gestured toward his mouth. Stay in contact, he meant by that and headed downstairs.

In parallel, Erwin moved forward, his grip firm around his pistole, the shotgun strapped to his back reserved for a possible shootout. With each step, the bangs of his heart against his chest grew louder, but he forced himself to remain calm. He'd been trained for this, there was no reason for him to worry.

After taking a deep breath, his pulse slowly evened out.

Erwin continued his search. Every now and then, he checked offices for signs of life, but the halls remained mysteriously quiet.

Something wasn't right.

A few minutes had passed when Erwin recognised two faint voices arguing. 

They came from a taller office, given the sound was echoing indignantly through the room, the words less clear.

Erwin followed the noise and found two offices loosely connected to one another through a rectangular hole in the wall that was once supposed to be a window.

»I can't believe you messed this up,« a female voice arose, sharp with disapproval.

Erwin couldn't help himself and moved further into the office, pressing his body flat against the wall which separated the two rooms, facing the edge of the window.

»Your work has been poor, inadequate, and above all, sloppy, today,« she continued. »Seriously, I had more competent trainees than you.«

»Please, excuse our inability to prevent the Incident,« a male, quieter voice answered, forcing Erwin to come closer. Was it possible that one or some of these people were such creatures as Mrs. Springer had described?

»That weakling Fragon couldn't even take it up with him.« She snorted. »Embarrassing.«

In a slow, smooth movement, Erwin dared peer through the window. At first, he was confused as the woman talking to her subordinate looked quite normal, no additional extremities sticking out in scarlet blood.

Nonetheless, in one of the corners, Erwin could make out a third person, not acknowledged by the two. It was a young man with raven hair, locked up in a cage.

Was this ... the monster?

The woman approached the other man, a blonde, buff man in a suit, towering over him. »But not to worry. All of you will suffer Her Wrath when you return.«

Silence.

Except, the man audibly gulped. This reminded Erwin to hide behind the wall again.

»I know we performed poorly today, but there's something else you need to know,« the man noted.

»What, now?«

»A car followed us all the way down here.« Erwin froze. »The driver took a turn before we arrived, but I'm sure we were being pursued.«

There was a pause, then. »Cops,« she suggested.

»How?«

»The Ackermann kid. They're on the edge because of ... the Incident.«

»Your orders?«

»We must retreat. It's only a question of time until it's all over the news. We can't draw any more attention at the moment,« she explained. »We need to leave as quickly and silently as possible, they're going to surround the building. I do not want a single cop dead. If any of you even dare lay a finger on one of them, you'll suffer the consequences.«

»What do we do with him?« he wondered, probably referring to the man in the cage.

»Get some new toxin and neuter him. The effect is already wearing off. I'll prepare our leave so you can't fuck this up, as well.« Since her voice wasn't directed toward the window anymore, Erwin supposed, she had turned to the black-haired man. »You stay here and don't move.«

Two sets of steps headed in different directions; one toward the stairs, the other to the double door Erwin had seen out of the corner of his eye.

He should alarm the other officers. He should tell them to storm the building before the criminals might make their escape and never surface again.

But Erwin needed more information. He needed to find out more about these creatures and their intentions before everything escalated.

After checking his surroundings, Erwin swung himself over the edge of the window and entered the room. When his boots hit the concrete, the strange man didn't even look up, his eyes trained on the metal below his legs. Dirt like powder sticked to his face and clothes, his arms littered with already healing bruises.

With cautious steps, Erwin approached him, not wanting the man to alarm anyone. He looked around once more before returning to studying the stranger like he was the subject of an unknown experiment.

»I have visual contact with the alleged abductee,« Mike's message rustled in his ear, Erwin flinched. »I'm in the garage, she's still in the car,« he added, »she's unguarded, but locked in ... probably unconscious. Did you see any of the abductors?«

»I counted two of them on the first floor. They're on the move.«

»I think I can get her out.«

»Don't alarm the team just yet,« Erwin queried in a low voice. »There's someone else here. He looks ... wrecked, to say the least.«

»We have the girl, it's fine. Just come back.«

As Erwin spoke into the radio, the stranger continued his stare battle against the floor while drawing circles on the metal with his index finger. »But he's locked up ... in a cage,« Erwin stated, already searching for a way to open the lattice door. »He needs help.«

»In a cage?« His tone changed, in an immediate, to something in between annoyance and pity. »Erwin, you've listened to multiple witnesses telling you they saw a fucking monster, and your first instinct after finding a sick looking guy in a cage is to free him?«

»He doesn't look like a monster.« Erwin cocked his head to the side, eyeing the man with sympathy. »He's just ... human.«

»Aw, man, I know you and your big ass heart bullshit, but he's probably a criminal, too. Don't jump the gun, you hear me?«

Erwin shook his head. »I think I know a way to pick the lock.«

»Cut the crap, man! Stick to the plan, alright?« Mike warned, but Erwin didn't listen and pulled the plug from his ear, leaving it bare on his shoulder.

He crouched down in front of the stranger. To look less threatening, he took off the helmet and set it aside, as well as the weapon.

»Hey there,« he said and lowered his head in order to make eye contact with the man, but he didn't spare him a single look. »You alright?«

Erwin knew he obviously wasn't, but he just didn't know what else to say.

The stranger refrained from answering Erwin's stupid question, which made sense.

»Let's get you out of there,« he muttered rather to himself and pulled a pocketknife from his belt. Then, he extended one of the blades and inserted it into the lock, moving it around and pushing it in and out.

The stranger watched him in silence, peerie aluminium, eyes of a cat. A predator keeping its distance, not moving an inch as though any noise could make his prey jump and hop off, back to his herd.

Since Erwin didn't make any progress, the man chastised him, »You're doing it wrong,« his voice hoarse with exhaustion. Finally, his silver eyes found Erwin's, and he stretched out his hand, asking Erwin to hand him the knife.

Erwin's pupils twitched back and forth between the stranger's intense gaze and his palm. He didn't know if he should give this man a possible, improvised weapon and a one-way ticket out of this nightmare. Erwin was curious, but not naive.

On the other hand, if this man proved to be one of these creatures, this would be Erwin's greatest discovery in fourteen years. Ever since his father had been murdered, he'd made little to no progress on his research. Every lead had been a dead end.

This man could be the key to everything.

Only then did Erwin realise that he'd made his decision long ago. He placed the knife into the man's hand and watched as he put one of the blades back into the lock.

»Tell me your name,« Erwin demanded.

The man didn't react. Unbothered, he kept fiddling with the lock, his thin, black eyebrows knit in concentration.

»It's Ackermann, isn't it?«

The stranger halted. Scrunched up his concave, peaked nose. Continued, afterwards.

»I want to know more about you. There are others like you, are there not?«

His eyes narrowed in distrust. It almost looked as if he'd glanced up once more, but it had happened so fast, Erwin didn't know if he'd imagined that.

»Who are these people? What have they done to you?« He bent down his head once more in hopes of locking eyes with him. »We can build a case and take them down. If you help me, we can protect you. Just give me something to work with.«

The lock gave away, and the stranger became impossibly still. As though the click had sent a bolt of electricity through his body and paralysed every muscle there was.

His bloodshed eyes rolled upwards and found Erwin's. A tint of black mixed with his aluminium irises until it had spread across the entirety of the white.

Suddenly, an unexpected force hurled Erwin across the floor, making him land on his back.

»What the,« he brought out and reached for his weapon, but the stranger moved so fast, he was immediately over him, stepping on Erwin's chest with one foot pressed against his ribcage, his hands tensed up in ugly claws.

Erwin struggled against the pressure of the man's weight, yet Ackermann was pinning him to the concrete with cruel strength, forcing a strained exhale out of him.

The sound of breaking bones mixed with splashing blood filled the room as some sort of tissue sprung out of his spine and unfurled rapidly into four wing-like, striking red extremities. Their pointed edges almost reached the ceiling, and Erwin knew they cut sharper than a razor blade.

»Where is she?« Ackermann hissed.

Erwin stared at him in complete awe. A terrible creature that looked way too human to be a monster but menacing enough to make his skin crawl.

»Where is she?« he repeated, pronouncing each syllable with iron fury.

»Who?«

»The girl. Where is she?«

»I don't know.«

»Yes, you do,« he insisted and pushed his foot further into his ribs, to which Erwin stifled another pained noise. »I've heard you talking about her with your little cop friends.«

»So?«

Ackermann crouched down like Erwin had (before he'd been assaulted) and his claw followed, one of the blades hovering above Erwin's throat. »You will ask them where she is, and you will ask them now.«

The proximity allowed Erwin to study the creature's eyes. Stinging, black violence with ruby veins twitching in between. It was ... fascinating.

»What ... are you?« was everything he could bring out.

»You are in no position to ask questions.«

As he took a closer look at the blades, he found that the crystalline structure broke the spare light of the room. »What is it made of? The weapon.«

»Do you want me to stab you?«

Erwin paused. He remembered that he was being threatened, and the guy above him didn't seem as concerned with getting rid of police officers as his enemies were.

However, Erwin was not scared. His heart was not thrumming with fright nor worry, but mere exhilaration.

»You want to know more about the girl?« Erwin challenged. »Who is she to you?«

»That is none of your business. Just do as I say, and no one gets hurt.«

»Only if you answer me,« Erwin demanded. »What is your business with the girl?«

»I will give you five more seconds to answer me before I mercy kill you, because you obviously have some sort of death wish.«

»I will not endanger the life of a child to make it out alive. That would kind of defeat the point of my job.«

Ackermann pressed his hand against his forehead, closing his eyes in exasperation. »I am not a threat to her, these guys are! She's my sister, alright?«

Reminding himself of the vivid image of a pale, red-haired girl, Erwin compared it to the black-haired, Asian man atop him, in disbelief. »Mum and dad better have a good explanation for that.«

»She's like me!« he argued, putting his flat hand on his chest. »A ghoul.«

Ghouls. That's what they were called.

»Fine. Then, let me ask my colleague,« Erwin gave in and slowly reached for the radio, not wanting to startle Ackermann with any sudden movements. »Can you hear me?«

»Erwin? You alright?«

»Well, I'm kind of ... in a situation right now.«

»Oh my God, you're such an idiot,« Mike muttered, not surprised. »Where are you? Can you move?«

»I'm fine. Do you have the girl?«

»Yeah. Tactical team is here in two minutes.«

»Get her away as fast as you can,« he replied before ripping the device off and smashing it to the ground.

»Ugh! Mother's wrath,« Ackermann cursed under his breath, scratching at his scalp. »I'm going to kill you!«

»Isn't there like an unspoken rule for criminals to not kill cops?«

»I am not a criminal!«

»Fine, make it quick then. But before you dissect me,« he started off, »think this through. No one knows who you are, at the moment.«

»But you,« he spat, his face contorted in revulsion, hatred as dark as the night.

»That is accurate. However,« he continued, maintaining the eye contact, »it's going to look like I caught you red-handed.«

Since Ackermann only glowered at him as though he was about to gut Erwin like a fish, he added, »You insisted that you didn't do anything illegal, let's assume that was true. If you killed me, what would that look like? It would seem not as if you were a victim but involved in the abduction. As if I caught you and you had no choice but to murder a possible witness of your crime.«

»You think I ... kidnapped her?« he snarled, and Erwin could already feel the edge of the claw brush against his skin.

»I don't. But someone else might,« he added quickly, stretching his neck out of the blade's reach. »And by your abilities, I can tell that you probably don't want to draw too much attention.«

The ghoul seriously considered his point.

»You're useless,« he sighed, his claw lifting into the air. »I will let this slide because you helped me. We're even now.«

The man arose in a graceful manner and stepped off Erwin, pressing all the air out of him as he pushed himself off his chest with a soundless jump.

Erwin rolled to the side and struggled to sit up, holding on to his aching side. »A ›Thank you‹ would be nice.«

Ackermann pointedly ignored him and walked over to where Erwin had left his gun like an idiot. He bent down to take the pistole into his hand, and just as he was about to check the magazine, the man from earlier appeared in the door frame.

In a wink, Ackermann had turned to the man and, without hesitation, fired a salvo of shots at his face.

»No!« Erwin brought out, but what should've ended in brain mass splattered across the wall, resulted in his opponent being blinded for a few seconds. How was that possible?

Using the opportunity, Ackermann threw the weapon aside, rushed forward and kicked the man to the ground, grabbed his neck and pushed him against the concrete, hard. He resisted, but Ackermann had both hands on his jaw now, and with a swift movement and a wet, cracking sound, he'd wrung his neck.

Ackermann let out a deep breath and wiped his sweaty hands on the man's shirt. He picked up the gun again and slid it in Erwin's direction. »Take your useless garbage,« he remarked and scrambled to his feet. »I can't be seen running around with this shit.«

Beneath them, chaos rumbled.

They were here.

»Isi,« the man muttered. His eyes leaned in on Erwin one last time, nothing but stark survival. »You're out of your league, human. You better run.«

And then, he was gone.

Erwin finally sat up. He analysed the chaos around him, the unmoving body and the last remnants of a fight, a half-empty magazine.

What had he done?

Think. Do something. Don't be stupid.

Erwin reached for the gun, barely touching the handle with his gloved fingers to not destroy any of the DNA on it. This might be useful in the future, he thought. Maybe Hange could take a closer look at the samples.

After witnessing the sheer failure of the pistole when used on assumingly one of Ackermann's kind, Erwin couldn't help but find the weapon a little ridiculous.

Despite not wanting to use it, he'd always relied on the fact that, in a worst-case scenario, if somebody was in serious danger, even if he didn't want to, but just if it got to that, which he had always hoped wouldn't happen, but if somebody would die, if somebody had gone crazy and he had to intervene ─ he could shoot a person.

But now, he wasn't so sure of that, anymore.

All of a sudden, the man he'd presumed dead, started to move. He grabbed his own jaw and reset his neck, and that was Erwin's sign to fucking run.