Wolf in the Big City

Chapter 28 - Pursuit

Okay, that was an improvement. He wanted to talk. I inched closer to the door so I didn't have to shout and so I could talk about more sensitive issues without giving up the ghost to the other officers.

"Alright Benjamin. Are your parents okay? You okay? Not hurt too bad?"

"N-no. I uh. I couldn't control myself. Hurt people. Hurt myself. I-I'm so hungry, I don't know what to do, man!"

That tracked. Connie's hypothesis was correct then. Guy was hungry and nothing seemed to sate that urge. So he got violent and aggressive. What was the word that the younger folks used when they were like this? Hangry? Benjamin was hangry. God that sounded so weird. Why did I even come up with that analogy? I shook my head to focus on the task at hand. His parents were hurt. He was hurt too.

"How badly hurt? I can get emergency services here on the double, Benjamin. Just say the word. I can get you and your family medical help."

"I-I-it'll be fine, detective cop sir. They'll be fine. They're not that hurt. I-I just want to talk! But people keep thinking I want to hurt them!"

I heard more than a little bit of panic and fear in that last one. Which was understandable; Evelyn and I had gone after him with guns drawn the first time we'd encountered each other, after all. He was being wary, rightfully so. But I hoped he understood that we weren't out to hurt him this time.

"That's not true, Benjamin. We don't want to hurt you. As long as you take in what I'm saying and keep calm, okay? We're going to get through this together, alright? We just need your cooperation. That's all."

"Y-yeah. I guess. I uh. Can we talk? Please? No one's listened to me since all this started."

"Sure, we can talk Benjamin." I replied, keeping myself close to the apartment door so I didn't have to raise my voice. "Let's start from the beginning, man. What happened back then?"

There was another moment of silence as Benjamin took in my words. I could hear him gulp audibly on the other side of the door, his mind no doubt racing back to the Princes.

"I-I was hungry. I always stop by their apartment when I go to work to share a coffee with them. But I don't know what came over me that day. I uh... Everything went blank. All I knew was I was hungry, so hungry... W-when I came to, th-they were dead! I-I had blood all over me, s-so I cleaned up a-and left a-and I was really scared..."

I wasn't quite sure about how that testimony would hold up in court, but at least we had a confession? Whatever it was, we still needed to get Benjamin's parents to safety. I inched a little closer to the door, enough that I could reach for the knob without having to stretch too far but I held off on trying to open it.

"Relax, Benjamin. Try to stay calm. We're not here to hurt you."

My enhanced hearing picked up sniffling coming from back behind the door. Was he crying? At the very least, he was emotional. And if he was getting upset, that meant he was going to get more unpredictable by the moment. But what could I do? What could I say to this scared young man who'd been so suddenly thrust into a world he was not prepared to enter? It felt like a repeat of what I'd been through, except his was so much more violent. Before I could say another word, I heard him mumbling under his breath.

"I'm...a monster... I'm just a monster... I-I need to run, I need to go-"

I heard scuffing coming from the other side that diminished in volume at a rapid rate. He was running! I leaped to my feet and threw the door open only to catch his sneakers vanishing into a back room. I recognised this living room from the last time we were here, but the whole place was trashed. The next thing that caught my eye was an Indian man slumped against one of the nearby walls with Mrs Prasad tending to him. I assumed the man was her husband and dashed into the apartment, my sidearm flying into my hand as I chased Benjamin. But before I left the room, I took a moment to turn to Evelyn.