Cryptids: The Beginning Arc. [book 1] |REDUX|

chapter 17: "books."

"Hmmmm..." Alex looks through an aisle of Japanese books known as 'manga'. He puts his finger on his lips and thinks.
"I'm not too educated on this type of stuff... I know some of these series but..." He mutters. Dayvawn grabs a volume and hands it to him.
"Here. Tokyo Ghoul. It's my favorite manga ever... I think you would like it, Alex. It's bloody, so be warned." Alex grabs the book and begins to read the back.
"Hm... A one-eyed ghoul, huh?"

Chowder walks up to the group holding a Twilight book.
"You guys still looking at that NERD shit?" She asks. Dayvawn rolls his eyes and looks at her.
"Chowder, Chowder, Chowder, Chowder." Dayvawn puts his finger on her lips.
"Manga is a form of art." He says. Chowder doesn't care and bites his finger and He shouts in pain.
"YEEEEOOOWCH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ally grabs a volume of Bleach.
"Ah... I've seen a few episodes of this. Don't know the story though, only through Adult Swim when it played." He mutters. Dayvawn gives a thumbs up.
"Bleach is awesome, Ally! It's a long series, though, like 74 volumes in total. But it's really great!" He says. Ally pops out of his eyes.
"74... Volumes? This manga stuff gets serious."

Champ has a basket full of manga, He gleefully browses the selection on the shelves.
"Believe it or not, Ally, Bleach isn't even the longest series. There's One Piece, Baki, Kochikame, Kingdom and so much more! And did you know a lot of artists do their art on a weekly basis? Like Bleach, that beautiful art you see? All done within a week of each other. Of course, some have assistants to help, because that would be genuinely impossible to do alone. But some artists defy this and do it by themselves. It's immaculate. I highly recommend Fullmetal Alchemist, I know you're into magic and all of that, and well alchemy isn't magic, I think you would like the series since it's pretty mature for the Shonen demographic. Oh, some manga have different demographics like other forms of entertainment do, like Shonen, Shojo and-"

Champ begins to yap about manga, everyone actually cares to listen except for Chowder.
"Duuuude. This is why women avoid youuuuuu, bro." She says. Champ dismissively rolls his eyes.
"Somebody is peanut butter and jealous that I know a lot about what I love." He taunts. Chowder flicks him off.
"Whatever, I'm reading mature literature. Oh, Edward... You're so hot..." She bites her lips.

Sarah walks up to the group holding a recipe book and a plush bear.
"What are you guys up to." She questions. "Oh, Champ is just being a loser per usual." Chowder replies. Champ sighs.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm ready whenever you guys are."

The group all head to the checkout and purchase their items. Champ's bill came out to $369. As they walk outside Sarah's phone begins to ring. She grabs it and picks it up.
"Yes. Winston Moon speaking." She says.
"H-Hi... Sarah..." A nervous male voice is on the other line. Sarah is confused for a second but knows who it is.
"Yes, Mark?" She says.
The man on the other end stays silent for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Uh... Captain is using the restroom right now... So, uh, erm, He wanted me to tell you guys- that-that, uh, in a few hours... Maybe more... Uh, maybe less... You might, erm, have a job."

Sarah nods.
"Okay. Thanks, Mark." She hangs up. Ally looks at Sarah.
"Who was that? Captain?" He asks. Sarah shakes her head.
"Mark. We might have a job in a bit." She answers. Dayvawn speeds up his walking.
"Oh! Job! So we'll get paid?! A lot of money?! Right...?" He pesters. Sarah just nods.
"Hahaha, sweet." Dayvawn giggles.

Ally looks up at the sky.
"We should probably set a base. Just in case." He looks at Sarah. She agrees with this, so does Alex and Champ.
"Yeah. Like a hotel. C'mon, let's go." They all begin walking to their vehicles. Dayvawn gets a little upset.
"B...But we just started to hang! Wait, a hotel?"

Sarah looks at him.
"We never know when a Cryptid will strike, Dayvawn. So it is always best to set up camp somewhere." She opens a car door.
"Let's meet... At the Orange Hotel. That sounds good to me. Everyone, let's rendezvous there. Set your GPS." She hops into the car. Everyone but Dayvawn nods, and in unison, they say "Right!"

Dayvawn is a little upset but shrugs and begins to walk to his Pontiac Solstice. "I'll meet you guys there..." He says disappointed. He gets in and begins to drive. A few minutes pass and everyone arrives at a hotel room. It's a single bedroom, Alex sits on the bed dangling his feet while kicking them happily. Chowder looks out a window and Champ, Ally, and Dayvawn stand next to Sarah.
"So... This will be our base for our apparent upcoming mission. We have two T.P.s just in case the event is a bit away. Champ, you got the tracker?" Sarah looks at Champ.

Champ nods, bringing out the device He used earlier to track the Shadow Person.
"Yes, ma'am!" He replies. "Alex, you got your guns and ammo?" Sarah says to Alex. Alex nods.
"Mm-hm! Yes, ma'am~" Alex replies as well.
"Chowder, your daggers and knives?" She says to Chowder now. Chowder gives a thumbs up.

"Good. I see you have your katana, Ally, like usual. So no need to ask." Sarah turns to Dayvawn. He begins to sweat at her gaze. She stares, burning his soul.
"Dayvawn... What do you bring to the table? Can we really trust you out there? Or is it better if I slay you here to save the trouble?"

Everyone stares in fear. Alex is the one to step up and speak.
"Sarah... Isn't that harsh?! Dayvawn proved himself back at the party, didn't He?! Stop threatening to kill him... He's a part of our division now!!! And... And... It's mean!!!" He yells. Dayvawn shakes his head. Everyone turns their attention to him. His fist shakes in anger.

"I... Can't offer much... I don't even know why the hell I'm here... I mean, I do... But I'm inexperienced... I don't know how to use my Blood-Blade or whatever... I don't know my full strength... I don't even know if I'm human anymore... I don't know how to invent like Champ... Or use a katana like Ally... Shoot like Alex... or even cook Bacon like Chowder...
But I do know this... If it's to save people, even a single person..."

"I will give up my life."

Sarah, for once besides eating food, gives a soft smile.
"Giving your life... At least in the Cryptid Hunters... Really doesn't mean much. We die every day. Every second. But I know you truly mean that. Dayvawn, please, watch our back out there." She puts her hand out. Dayvawn grabs it and shakes it.
"If it means saving people... Of course." Dayvawn softly mutters. He doesn't know what He is getting himself into, however, maybe, finally, He can live his dream of being a superhero.

'BZZZZZZ, BZBZBZBZBZB, BZZZZZ!!!' Everyone's phone suddenly starts vibrating. They all pick up.
"Hello...?!" They all shout in unison besides Sarah who doesn't say anything.
"Ah! Division Loch! Sup, sup! It's me! Your Captain! So... There's been a Cryptid sighting about 16 miles away from your location. Mind investigating it? From local tongues and whispers, it doesn't sound like a threat. So basic neutralizing will do. But still, you can never be too safe. Bring deadly weapons. I'll shoot ya' the location! Bye~"

Captain hangs up, everyone but Dayvawn has a look of determination.
"Okay, team. We have a Cryptid to hunt." Sarah grabs a pistol from a nightstand.

CHAPTER: END