Keary knows though. His eyebrows knit together as he examines my face. I give him a smile, hopefully a reassuring one. The one circumstance where Keary isn’t standoffish is when I struggle with memories of my past. It’s the only time that he truly lets me see a side of him I crave more than finally breaking free of the past’s grip on my mind.
Both turn forward again while Notto secures the door behind us.
We’re in a park. The door we just walked out of is within the side of a building that’s seen far better days. No one would look twice at this building.
“Where are we?” Rainer asks.
“East of the cemetery,” Keary answers. “Where are we headed?”
Rainer shrugs. “Just hunting monsters.”
Keary gives him a bemused smile. Notto shakes his head.
“You’re hunting particular monsters, yeah?” Keary asks. Rainer nods. “Tell me about them. Tell me about what you remember.”
Rainer glances around, maybe looking for something or trying to regain his position in the world. Does he recognize his surroundings?
“They came at the first light. They were bipedal animals with massive claws and teeth. Not all the same kind of monster. Some had tails and some had pointed ears. Some had fur on their faces. One had wings that looked like they’d been shredded with a knife, though he could still… maybe not fly, but glide? Does that make sense?”
I nod even though he can’t see me.
“Yes. Sounds like hybrid forms,” Keary says. “Not unusual for this particular kind of attack. What else? Did they wear anything distinguishing like this?” He pulls out a band from his pocket with the Eriva family crest.
Rainer shakes his head. “Not like that. Not a House. More like…” He trails off. His eyes move around the area. Maybe looking for something specific to describe what he’d seen.
“Like this,” Notto says and pulls a shredded piece of folded cloth from his pocket.
Rainer looks over his shoulder, and I see his body stiffen. “Yes. Exactly that.” There’s louder distrust in his voice now, and I can almost see him withdraw from us.
“They killed one of my brothers,” Notto says as he folds it back into his pocket. “I tore this off the monster’s chest when I caught up with him. It’s my trophy.”
I’m not convinced that Rainer believes him, but I do. There are monsters, and then there aremonsters. The latter are who we all hunt because they’re the ones who fucked up the world. They are “kill on sight,” whereas every other living creature is left alone until otherwise provoked. That’s the unspoken rule.
“Do you remember the color of the mark?” Keary asks.
“Color?”
Notto pulls out the piece of fabric again and points to the dot in the middle. “They range anywhere from a solid color to striped patterns.”
Rainer studies the dot. “I think it was dark. Maybe I’d know if I saw it.”
“Is it the color of this one?” I ask, nodding at the cloth.
“I didn’t know to notice the color,” Rainer says, frowning. “I need to think about it.”
“What can you tell us about the way they fought? Different pods have specific methods,” Notto says, once more placing his fabric into his pocket.
Rainer shakes his head. “They didn’t use weapons. They used their hands. They didn’t speak but made animal sounds. Their eyes were… I can still see them when I close my eyes.”
“Did they kill everyone?” I ask.
“Yes. Until there was no one left but me and two others. We were hidden.”
“But did they take the bodies with them?”
Rainer glances at me. “Yes. They dragged everyone off. That’s how I followed them for a few days until the blood trail ran cold.”
“Did you find remains?”
