Elizabeth Darker - The Yellow Sun

Chapter One

It would have been the perfect night for a late night stroll. A perfect seventy-five degrees with a gentle breeze wisping past now and then. Stars and one large, nearly full moon spotted the beautiful navy sky. A few blotches of clouds were scattered across the sky like bits of giant cotton tossed on an even larger table, and off in the distance, crickets chirped a soft lullaby.

Amara was sure that was what the victim must have thought as she left her house for a midnight jog. Unfortunately, the sweet perfume of the magnolias blossoming not far off was overpowered by the smell of blood and worse things. Amara took a moment to let her senses adjust when she heard another car coming down the small, secluded road. She assumed it would be her partner, Stephanie.

Amara was the first investigator on the scene. Of course, she wasnt exactly a detective or a police officer. Amara was a sort of mercenary. She did the dirty work. Her job was to look at clues, to track down, and kill whoever was responsible for the gruesome scene laid out in front of her. The police never liked to get their hands dirty when it came to someone being disemboweled or hacked apart by something not human.

Thats where The Administration and its professional hunters came into view. For the right price, hunters like Amara would chase and exterminate any sort of paranormal pests hiding under your toddlers bedor eating the neighbors.

Just as Amara predicted, her partner slowly pulled up in their red Prius Hybrid. Generally their employer paid for most of their on-job needs, including their vehicle. When the two were told to choose a new car after their last one was run off the interstate by a group of rowdy, high speeding vampires, Stephanie demanded their vehicle from The Administration be some sort of green car..

When she first suggested it, Amara thought she meant the color. When it came to saving the world, working for The Administration and killing vampires was enough for Amara. Her apprentice needed to do more than that. Green cars, organic food, and environmentally safe cleaners. Amara had just about all she could take when Stephanie demanded an eco-safe car. At least Amara got to pick the color.

At the moment, there were more important things to worry about. Lights flashed red and blue over the park grass, but there were only two police cars and a little bit of yellow police tape. For unusual deaths like this, The Administration generally helped the police cover things up. The deal went both ways, if a vampire hunter got hurt or killed in public, the police helped keep things quiet and found an excuse for it. It was an exchange that kept the general public -as well as most of the police from knowing there really could be a monster in the closet or under the bed.

Amara put the car into park and unbuckled her seat belt. As she got out of the car and walked toward the crime scene, the smell grew stronger. The police stopped her from crossing the tape. One, the larger of the two men caught her arm as she tried to duck under the yellow barrier. He was tall, probably close to seven feet, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His salt and pepper hair was just starting to recede back.

Excuse me, but this area is closed off, he said, sounding a little unsure of the situation himself.

Amara held up her badge for him. Not a police badge, but her identification through the organization. Amara Parson, she said her name, and that was enough for the officer let her keep moving forward. When he stopped Stephanie, she already had her badge out with a large smile. The officer returned to his post like a giant watching a castle gateway.

As the two girls walked up to the scene, they were greeted by another hunter. Jeremy was out on patrol when he stumbled on the body. Amara had already been given minor details over the phone and shared them with Stephanie. I found a girl cut up didnt really sum up what they were staring at. The girls throat had been ripped out so deeply that the white of the bone gleamed through the mass of dark clumps and blood. Various parts of her body were missing. Areas of her lower back, her leg, and her entire rib cage had been torn out.

I thought you said she was cut up? Amara asked him sharply.

She is, Jeremy said with a glare as he walked closer to the body with them. Jeremy knelt down beside the corpse. He already had a pair of surgical gloves on for his protection. Amara put her own on as she followed him over.

Her throat was ripped out by some sort of animal, he pulled a flap of skin aside to show the ragged edges of skin and muscle, then he moved down to her ribs. The bones here were cut by a knife. Look at the smooth edges. Not cracked or broken; just cut. He moved down lower again. Even the tissue in her back is in nice clean strokes. Almost surgical.

Then why were we called here? Amara sighed deeply. This looks like a human could have done it with a pet dog.

Youve seen a dog with a mouth that big? Jeremy gave her a condescending smile.

Okay, okay. I get it. Were looking for a lycanthrope who will likely have a doggy bag. I assume theres already a team out searching? Amara looked over the girls throat again and sighed.

All you need to do is check out the body for reference, double check my findings, and theyll contact you if we dont find the big bad wolf by morning, he said with a nod.

Cute, Jeremy. Very cute. Amara couldnt help but smile. Jeremy had an elegant way with words. She stood up and took her gloves off. Well, I agree about the cutting, and about her throat. Anything else I need to see?

He shook his head and looked around to check on the other Administration investigators. Jeremy wasnt the supervisor, but he was on his way to quickly becoming one.

Did you manage to I.D. her?

No, but were working on it. Jeremy shook his head again. At least the police are. Let them do their job. Well keep doing ours.

Amara nodded as she walked away from the body;, the smell was starting to get to her. She made it back to the tape where Stephanie stood and ducked under, followed by the two other hunters. As soon as she was away from the body, she took a deep breath to clear her head. The summer heat hadnt done the body any justice. She looked to Jeremy again as she tried to keep her mind off the body.