Bloodbound

6. Creature of the Night

Hello guys! Next chapter is here. Big thanks to Ot5bymy1dheart for making this edit for the story.

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The day that changed Pietro's life wasn't a day. It was a night. He got a phone call on that fateful night which made him abandon his twin during the celebration dinner for her new job. He had been called to a crime scene for investigation. That one incident determined his course of action.

It's been three months since the night Pietro saw the mangled body. Still they were not close to solving the case than they were that night. There had been many talks in the base what could have killed that man but most of them were just plain crazy. But crazy had been his life since joining the secret organisation, Special Threat Assessment for Known Extranormalities but they usually went by the name S.T.A.K.E. The agency dealt with extreme and weird cases in the city. He had come across weird cases while filing the reports but this was his first field work.

Nothing can be said about the case for sure till they receive a forensic report. It has to be a beast gone rogue, Pietro thought. The bite marks and the ripping matched an animal's jaw than a knife. But it didn't make any sense. An animal barely wanders into a big city; that too a rouge one is very rare and weird. It's weirder that it still has not been spotted by anyone.

Pietro made his way to the lab to collect the report. He entered the lab and he saw Fitz working on his laptop.

The night flashed in front of Pietro's eyes. Fitz-Simmons were there to collect evidence. Pietro talked with the local police saying S.H.I.E.L.D will take over the case. The police looked at him suspiciously but grumbled an agreement. We need a believable name he thought as he entered the secured area. He saw the two scientists make their way, down the alley, to the death body. He followed them. At the end of the alley, his eyes settled on the dead body for the first time. It wasn't like anything he had seen before. The road below it was dark maroon. The blood that had pooled around the body has dried away. It looked like gummy red substance now. He saw Fitz cringe his face as he looked at the unidentifiable body. But Simmons didn't seem to mind it. She set onto work. Once they had finished, they vacated the scene.

Pietro asked for the report to Fitz. He was searching through the files in the shelf when Simmons came out of the wet lab talking, "Fitz, did you decrypt the radio signal we picked up last week. Agent Hand thinks that it might have to do with Dr. Banner's disappearance. The last location of Dr. Banner and the signal have been picked within 1-mile radius." She didn't notice Pietro, she continued, "The case has been moved to top priority. We have a meeting with Agent Hand at 2:30" she ranted on in her British accent.

After she finished talking, she noticed that Pietro was in the room. "Sorry. I didn't see you there. How can we help you?"

"He is here for the report of feral case. I can't find the file" Fitz said throwing up his hand in defeat.

Simmons searched the shelf again and Fitz stood looking at her with his hand on his hips.

"Here it is" she said as she took a file and handed it to Pietro. Pietro thanked her and left. On his way to the debriefing room, he opened the file. The first paper had a photo of the body attached to it.

The image of the body had never felt his mind. Seeing, the carcass and the blood took him to that night again. A pungent rotting smell of decaying flesh hit him even before he walked into the scene. Suddenly, in the corridor he smelled the decaying flesh. His nostrils flared up and he could smell it everywhere. Pietro closed the file breathing shakily. His hands trembled and he felt the room closing in on him. He entered the nearby washroom. He balanced himself in the sink and tried to breath regularly. He had seen his fair share of dead bodies but nothing compared to the state of the body in this case. A shiver ran down his spine. He thought to himself that he would never get over this case.

The days passed by. Handling technical issues, writing reports and transporting criminals filled his life. The animal attacks continued so did the mangled bodies. The number of agents working on the case was increased to keep up with the attacks.

Nine months after the first case, Pietro came across a peculiar one which piqued his interest. Like every day, he reported to base in the morning. As soon as he entered, he was dragged out by Thompson for investigating a crime scene. When they arrived at the scene, the area was already cut off from general public with yellow tape. The forensic team had also left leaving only the outline of the body. The body has been taken to the base for autopsy. Pietro and Thompson stood near the yellow tape.

"I want you to question that man over there. He was the one who notified the police."

Pietro nodded and looked at the man. He was wearing worn-out clothes and a crumpled coat over it. His facial hair was over-grown and his eyes were red and sunken. He looked hung over. He was nervous. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to another and kept looking around. Pietro approached him.

"You're the one who notified us?" The man nodded and Pietro continued, "What's your name?"

"Charles Hinton."

"Can you tell me when did you find the body?"

"I don't know the time. But it was morning. There was sunlight. I called the police as soon I saw; I swear."

"Did you touch the body?"

"No. I didn't. I was revolted to go near it. It was disgusting. I felt my stomach churn."

"Walk me through the incident."

"I was on my way to collect breakfast from the bakery next street. The baker is a good man. He gives me bread in the morning every day. I saw the body only when I was few steps away from it. Other than the face nothing was recognisable remotely to a person. All the internal organs were on the street. There was blood everywhere. I backed off afraid. I almost ran away but decided to call the police."

Pietro's mind instantly travelled to the similar case he had investigated nine months ago. The body was ripped apart and the person was beyond recognition. In this case, unlike the previous one, the face remained intact. Identifying the victim would be easier he thought.

"Was anyone else there?"

"No, just me"

"Thanks. We will reach out for further questioning in future."

Thompson noticed Pietro approaching him as he was talking with Fitz-Simmons. "What do you think of this case, Maximoff?" he asked.

"The informant says that the body was mangled. So, another animal attack?"

"Sadly yeah" replied Thompson.

"We all thought it would a feral animal but it was a dead end. We have to start looking at other options."

"Thought so. But the claw and bite marks plus the embedded tooth point towards animal attack" interjected Fitz.

"Embedded tooth?" That's a huge lead thought Pietro.

"Just now Simmons was filling me on the details. Apparently, a canine was embedded into the flesh of the victim" said Thompson

This was a great lead. If they find the animal all they had to do is put it to sleep. But something in Pietro's head kept saying that it wasn't an animal even though it looked like the work of a big cat or a bear. This could be his big break and he was determined to get to the bottom of this.

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