The Preying City

Vincent mulled over the little information he received. It was very fortunate that the man had a distinguishing feature. The only annoying thing that could come into play would be the current trend of men wearing gloves.

'I need to get real. Not like there's just one or two men with brown hair and burn mark on their right hand. Millions of people in this city, and I need to track down such a guy. I have neither time, nor the means to get any result unless I get super lucky.'

Straightening his thoughts, he led the little girl by her hand towards the hospital. Reaching the room where Elias and his wife were, he found a policeman talking to the man. Looking at the policeman, Anna hid behind Vincent. The men in uniform were trouble. She thought so because her father had been told off by them many times when he was working. They would even taken him to the station and lock him up if he ignored their warnings.

Vincent looked at the little girl and smiled gently to assure her that everything was alright. He approached the policeman while Anna followed behind timidly. Vincent introduced himself and the policeman did the same.

"You should be careful not to disturb the patient. She needs proper rest for the moment. I would really appreciate it if you could take your business outside. I can look over her for the time being." Vincent hinted that the police was being inconsiderate of the situation and offered his help to Elias. The latter nodded gratefully and followed the former out.

Anna looked at her mother and glanced out the room from time to time. She was worried that the police would do something bad to her father. Vincent noticed the girl's nervousness but didn't meddle any further. Getting noticed by the authorities would be troublesome to say the least.

He strained his ears hoping to catch a word or two. Sadly, both the policeman and Elias, who worked for a private investigator whispered softly and Vincent whose ears were every bit normal failed to get any information.

Elias walked in a moment later. He looked a little down but put on a smile on his face as soon as he saw his little girl. Vincent didn't inquire for fear of being suspected and advised the man on how to take better care of the patient. He walked out after receiving words of gratitude and spent the day working.

He joined Mr. and Mrs. Lee for dinner. They had a pleasant conversation. The landlady asked about work to which Vincent replied that everything was fine. After the dinner, he denied their offer to join them for a game.

"I am really sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Lee. A colleague of mine from work invited me to a small gathering. I have already accepted and it would be rude of me to not show up."

Mrs. Lee put on an understanding expression and replied gently, "That's okay. You should keep your words. You are new to work after all. Not showing up might leave a bad impression of you. You should get going. Don't be late now."

Vincent bid the married couple goodbye and put on a coat and top hat. Grabbing his mask, he put it in the inner pocket of the coat and left the house. He made his way to Elias's house. His wife had been discharged after she regained her consciousness. The hospital wouldn't bear the cost for patients who didn't require the necessary care and such patients had no choice but to leave.

Vincent suspected that the policeman had entrusted Elias with a task. The most probable work he would get would be to help track the so called devil. He had caught a glimpse of the man and was half an investigator. The police would certainly use him if they could. In the case that he was wrong about his guess, he would have just wasted a few nights and it wouldn't affect him much.

Elias was cooking and his wife who was still weak was talking to her daughter. The family then enjoyed a happy dinner and went to sleep. Vincent waited for a bit more to see if the man would make any moves but left after ensuring that he had fallen asleep.

He returned the next night as well. Elias put on a sack coat after his family had fallen asleep and quietly headed out. He went from one bar to another and talked to various people, probably those in the same trade as him. After receiving negative responses from each of them, he persevered and moved onto the next place. Vincent was keeping his distance and following him quietly.

Vincent confirmed that Elias had indeed been entrusted with the task to track down the man with a burn on his hand. He also learnt about a lot of places where he could seek out information. Unfortunately, the search yielded no result. Vincent noted the few places that sold information for money and returned home after Elias was done for the night.

His routine was the same for the next day as well. Unlike him, Elias was searching the entire day and he seemed to have found a clue. Vincent wanted to follow the man but couldn't because Elias would take action the next day and Vincent had to stay at the hospital. Suppressing his urge to call in sick, he worked properly the next day.

Vincent rushed to Elias's house directly after work was over. He was thinking about how to learn of what Elias found out. He considered if he should put on his mask and threaten the other party as Mr. Secret. It would yield result for sure but also risk Elias reporting about Mr. Secret to the police. Vincent didn't want to do anything with the police and was ruminating over his options.

Just as he was thinking of any other choices he could make, he caught sight of Elias's wife coming out of a corner. She was pale because of the previous injury. She was supposed to be resting but she had a distressed expression on her face and was walking with much difficulty.

She noticed Vincent and moved to him in a frenzy. "Doctor. Please help. Elias is hurt."

'Did things go wrong today? If I help now, the authorities might check on me. But if I don't help, it would be equally suspicious and inconvenient.'

"Did something happen? Why don't you take him to a hospital, I lack the equipment necessary to treat a patient right now."

Vincent put on a troubled expression and tried hinting to the woman that a hospital might be a better option. She said that the situation was very bad and Elias needed help urgently. Left with no choice, he followed her to the small alley where the woman lived.

Elias was breathing roughly. There were cuts of varying sizes and depths throughout his body. The bed was dyed red by his blood and Anna was crying by the side. Noticing the kind doctor, she started pleading incoherently for him to save her father.

"Please step outside. I would like to be undisturbed." Vincent spoke in a serious manner. The woman nodded and dragged her daughter away. Vincent locked the door and moved closer to Elias. He had lost too much blood. It would be impossible to save him without blood transfusion and such a process was impossible for the current situation. He had neither blood nor the equipment to proceed with it.

"Listen closely. You won't make it. If there's anything you want to say, now is the time." Vincent hoped that this would prompt the man to speak about what he found. He was entrusted with the task by a police after all. If he died while on such a mission, his family would receive a substantial sum in compensation.

"Shh.... save me. I can't die yet. Ah.... Anna and Amara still need me. Save me doctor. I... I will do anything if you save me." Elias forced the words out weakly.

'I can save him with the syringe. That's the only option if I wish to save him. I can also test the authenticity of Mr. Collector's words with this. But if I do this, I would be exposing my identity as a supernatural to him. I still can't trust him properly. He looks like a reliable guy who wouldn't turn against his savior but looks can be deceiving. Do I take this risk?'

"Those words," Vincent put power into his voice, "you better mean them. I will hold you to it if I have to."

He popped open his pocket watch and looked at each of the individual needles. He also retrieved the syringe from a secret compartment in his coat and injected the content into Elias. He observed the watch and his patient.

After exactly 118 seconds, the wounds on Elias's body began healing at an insane rate. His sense of pain was dulled and he could barely feel the burning or stinging sensations. Suppressing his surprise, he got up and checked his body. He was perfectly normal in less than three minutes and he felt his own body bursting with power.

Getting his thoughts straight, he genuflected and spoke in a reverent tone, "Thank you. Thank you so much doctor. I will keep my words. I will do anything you ask me to as long as it doesn't hurt my family."

He was full of regrets just earlier for taking the job from the police despite being aware of the risks. Almost all his saving had been used on taking care of his wife and he was desperate. After being injured to such an extent, he was aware of his impending doom and the thought of his family being left helpless scared him. He had decided that he would do anything if it meant that he would continue being with his family. Now that he had indeed been saved, he intended to stay true to his words.

"That's good. Tell me what happened to you."