Although it was late and already dark out, there was one brave woman wrapped up in a coat traversing through the dark streets on her own. The area she was currently in wasn’t the safest, and a woman shouldn’t be out and about on her own at this late hour. She knew all of this herself when deciding to walk through here. However, she just had to.
‘For some reason, I just can’t feel happy about my decision? I miss the kids too much.’ Suzan thought. ‘What's the point of having all of this money… if I don’t feel happy?’
The reason she was out and about this late was because she was heading to the location of where the kids had moved to. Suzan had promised herself that she wouldn’t. The caretaker knew that it would only make it harder on them and herself. Nevertheless, she decided that there was something that she could do, something that would fill the hole in her heart.
With all the money, it was now possible for her to adopt at least one of the children she had grown to love. It would allow her to have a final goodbye with all the kids. Honestly, if she could and the system allowed it, she would have most likely taken them all home. Suzan hated to play favourites, but it was the last good thing she could do for them.
Hoping to catch them just before they headed to sleep, the woman started to pick up her pace and finally arrived at the address. Surprisingly, the streets were quiet on the way there.
“No one is allowed to enter this area, it has been boarded off to the public, go home.” A man standing outside told her in a gruff voice. There was a metal fence covering the whole area of warehouses, and it looked like this was one of the few entrances.
“I’m sorry that I’ve come here unannounced. My kids… the ones from the Black Rock Orphanage should have arrived here today. I used to work there and just wanted to see them one more time. I was planning on adopting one of them. I'm here for business, I promise.” Suzan spoke, her voice feeling a little shaky. Maybe it was because she had been dealing with kids a lot, but she was finding it hard to talk to the two men in front of her.
With the large bodies and arms folded, it wasn't giving off the impression of a welcoming place.
“That so? Too bad, we’re closed already. Now leave, or we’re going to have to force you to leave. We already said this place is off limits!” The man threatened her.
Thinking that these two men might have not understood, she decided to try to walk past them and would go see someone else, but they immediately stood in her way, and pushed her with such force that she tripped over and fell to the ground.
“We’re not joking around! This is your last warning!” The other man shouted at her.
Understanding that there was next to no chance that she would be able to get out of such a place, Suzan left, but not without looking for another way to get in. At the same time, she attempted to make a call to those business partners of hers to complain about their workers.
[The number you have dialled is no longer in service.] Was all she heard on the other end, though.
“What the- Not in service? That can’t be! I just talked with them yesterday.” She thought.
Worrying that something was seriously wrong, the caretaker did the only thing that could possibly help the situation, and that was to call the police. Whether they would help or not was another thing altogether.
———
Ever since the White Rose agents had informed Anton that they would be leaving, he had been working through the night to find some type of lead in the case. Something that would make them stay. If they stayed, the case would be reopened, but without them, not even he could give a good enough reason to his higher ups to keep it under investigation.
“Roo!” Anton shouted, and immediately rushing into the room was the young officer, who gave his superior a salute.
“Yes, Sir!”
“I keep looking through everything and I feel like I’m just one puzzle piece away from solving everything. I’ve looked at all the deaths reported starting from the construction site that day. Seeing if there was anything close to those that would match an Altered killer, but there isn’t one.” Anton ruffled his hair in frustration.
Looking at him, Roo could see the bags under the Chief of Police’s eyes and felt like this case was driving him mad.
“Sir, I hate to say it, but maybe that's because there wasn’t another killing by that Altered? I’m not saying you're wrong about there being another Altered killer, but perhaps your approach is wrong in looking for that Altered’s other victims?”
However, it felt like Roo’s words weren't having any effect on his superior, making him let out a big sigh.
“Have you looked into missing people?” The young officer specified.
“Missing people?”
“Right, I mean, people go missing all the time in general. Trying to run away from crimes or possibly something else. Who is to say that we found whoever that other Altered has killed? How about we look at all the people that have been reported missing, ever since the construction site incident? We can probably limit the search even further to the time Billy was killed.”
Hearing these words, it looked like a light had lit up in Anton. It was something that they should have done, but his mind had been so busy lately with all the things happening around him.
“Sir, there has been a report from a woman.” Another officer said as she rushed in. “The woman sounds panicked on the other end and is in what used to be the grey colour gang area. We need your opinion on how to handle this situation!”
———
Inside the warehouse, after learning of the strange events, Kevin had been looking around the place, trying to see if he could find anything else strange. He spoke to a few kids as well, but they had said only similar things as the ones before.
‘There is one thing that I’ve noticed, everything feels temporary and rushed.’ Kevin thought to himself. ‘These coloured matts are great, but they're really easy to buy and use, and the warehouse itself. They say it's been renovated, but there was no insulation on the walls. It still has its metal exterior.
‘Instead, they're using a lot of electricity and have spent a fortune on portable heaters. Even if they have a lot of money at their disposal, it should take time for them to renovate the orphanages… It’s as if they’re certain we won’t be here for too long.
Eventually, Kevin had found something while searching the place. The side of the metal walls looked to be quite damaged, a few dents here and there, and there were temporarily boarded up panels. However, right at the bottom there was a larger panel.
It looked crudely made, merely together by someone with some nails here and there. The young teenager figured that with a few pulls he might be able to get it undone. Before he attempted to do so, though, he made sure that nobody was paying attention to him. Luckily, the adults seemed to completely ignore the playing children.
Pulling on the wood a few times, the nails came undone on one side. He lifted it up, so it slid upwards, at which point he noticed that it was just a large hole that had been made to the outside.
‘Maybe knowing this will come in handy later. Birdie said that they wouldn't let us out on our own, which is a little strange.’ Kevin thought.
“Alright, everyone!” One of the men shouted. “Orphans from the Black Rock Orphanage, since this is your first day, we’ll need to take a photo of each one of you. These will be your profile photos for our clie-... your future parents. Everyone, make sure to look your best.”
The other kids started following the men outside. Looking at the hole he had just found, Kevin was wondering if he should use this opportunity to leave. Something was telling him that if he did go with the others… there was a big chance that he wouldn’t come back.
In the end, Kevin made his choice… and joined up with the other orphans.
‘Innu would never leave others alone!’
*****