Gary, Indiana. 2026

  "What's that?" The patrol officer said with clenched teeth. His body shuddered in the cold once more.

  His hands gripped the steering wheel as the car came to a halt. He was staring at the scene before him, his eyelids twitching subconsciously.

  There was something lying several meters away from his car. It was still five o'clock in the morning, so visibility was still low. The headlights were glaring at this 'object', but he still couldn't make out what it was.

  Officer Jack Holmes lazily got out of the car. His eyes stared at the object weakly—he was fed up with patrolling the same place every day. Obviously, the Police Chief was punishing him—assigning him a boring area for him to patrol.

  There were no crimes in this—not even stealing—because it was filled with abandoned buildings. It was believed the Gary Child Services once stood all over the place. But that was in the '90s. Except for scrawny squirrels and curious deer coming out of the woods, Jack was the only unfortunate soul here.

  The cold bit him again, this time severely. His teeth clattered for some seconds as he hugged himself tightly. The attempt failed horrendously. The cold was still there, in his body.

  Jack cursed his superior under his breath as he trudged toward the object. His left hand reached into his pocket to get his flashlight—he didn't also forget to grab the bulge under his armpit. One couldn't be too careful.

  And that was when he saw it, a body facing down. His eyebrows creased as several possibilities ran across his mind. He gripped the bulge while probing the body with his left boot.

  No movement.

  Funny, the patrol officer eyed the body suspiciously. Another robbery attempt, huh?

  Gary was no longer peaceful these days. The multiple roadside armed robbers were making it unsafe for people to travel at night. They would lie in the middle of the road and pretend to be hurt—or dead, even. Jack was wise enough not to buy the acting.

  He pulled out his silver revolver in a flash and aimed it at the body. "Stand up slowly and place your hands behind your head. Police officer here, so do not attempt anything funny. I'm quite excited to use this revolver... it's getting rusty."

  Silence—there was still no movement.

  It was at this moment the police officer decided that it was his 'duty' to kick this individual. Eventually, he didn't and ended up shoving the body with the same foot.

  What he saw wasn't what he expected to see. He couldn't handle it the disturbing scene and almost collapsed to the ground. The person—whoever it was—was dead. What had been lying at the center of the road was a corpse.

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  The first thing Jack noticed were the eyes, the nose and the mouth—or perhaps, the absence of them. Someone had gruesomely peeled them away and he could picture the scene. The perpetrator peeling away the victim's facial orifice with a cold expression.

  The smell of ozone hit him instantly—a sharp, electric smell which accelerated his heartbeat.

  It seemed like a wild animal, but Jack wasn't gullible to believe that. Wild animals couldn't do this. He didn't know why, but something told him this.

  Apart from the face, the corpse was glaringly mutilated. Jack could see the deep cuts all over the body. Bones peeked through flesh while blood seeped out of the gashes.

  Jack deduced that the murder had been done recently. Perhaps, thirty minutes before he arrived at the crime scene. The thought of this gripped his heart with a fear so primal, his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

  Although shocked, Jack didn't forget his duty. He got a hold of himself and observed the surroundings. Gary Cemetery lay before him, filled with gravestones and scraggly vegetation. The trees were like monsters, pale with their branches stretched forth.

  Jack no longer felt cold. He was now sweating profusely. There was something lurking within the cemetery—something watching him silently. It could have been his imagination, though.

  "Stupid!" He tucked the flashlight under his armpit and slapped himself. "Ghosts don't exist. It's only a psychopath running loose. By the time I call in the dispatcher, other units would be notified and the criminal will be caught."

  Somehow, he felt less afraid of the presence lurking in the shadows. His eyes swept at the corpse lying before him. He couldn't help but wonder the insufferable pain the victim must have been subjected to.

  Go to the cemetery, something whispered into his ears. It might have been the wind, or his mind even. The tone was so soft and yet, chilling at the same time.

  Jack walked toward the cemetery with a heavy heart. His legs wobbled under him as he thought, This could be a ritual...

  Right now his entire body was pulled taut. The slightest sound and he might definitely end up running with his tail tucked between his legs.

  A trail of something caught his sight. It glimmered under the flashlight, crimson in colour. Jack knew it was blood. He also noticed the chunks of flesh scattered about. Someone—or something—had been scraped across the ground.

  "This can't be happening," he muttered under his breath. It was more than an average homicide, his mind deduced.

  He hadn't walked for more than twenty meters within the cemetery when he saw another body. And then another, till there were more than twenty bodies lying across the cemetery.

  Something thumped against his chest heavily. It was his heart beating furiously. His breathing was becoming difficult but he managed to control himself.

  Suddenly, something leaned over him and touched the back of his neck. With a single spin and backward leap, he pulled the trigger and fired his revolver.

  The silence was pierced by the loud bang. But it was just a dry branch which had touched him. He had been standing underneath a short tree all this while.

  "Damn..." he cursed with clenched teeth. It was too late for regrets, though. He had fired the revolver at no one and was willing to face the consequences.

  His mind steered back to the obvious serial killer, sure that it wasn't an animal attack. It was a psychopath.

  Something told him to keep on searching. But rationality won in the end and made him stop. The perpetrator should have long been gone by now. There was no need searching the surrounding. He had to make a call to the dispatcher now!

  His legs carried him quickly back to the police car. He opened the door, eyes darting and hands shaking.

  The patrol officer's right hand reached out to the police radio and immediately contacted the dispatcher, "This is Officer Jack Holmes, unit twelve. I have a homicide at Gary Cemetery. Multiple bodies found, possible serial killer link. Request Detective Division and Crimes Scene Unit."

  No response. There was a static sound for some seconds. Then, a loud giggle filled Jack's ears. It happened for one second before everything became normal.

  The police officer became horrified. But then, he thought he was definitely hallucinating because the next second, the dispatcher's voice came through: "Copy, Unit twelve. Homicide at Gary Cemetery. Multiple victims reported. Detective Division and Crime Scene Unit are being dispatched. Backup en route. Secure the scene and await further instructions. Can you confirm the number of victims and any immediate threats?"

  "Copy, twenty bodies," Jack replied. "There are no immediate threats—"

  The police radio suddenly went static. And then another voice came in. It was childish and yet chilling at the same time.

  "I... want... to eat..."

  Jack immediately backed away. He could see the car's headlights flickering violently. They went off completely as well, plunging the whole place into darkness.

  He edged toward the police car, every nerve in his body screaming in protest. Ghosts didn't exist, he kept telling himself. He was just being afraid for nothing.

  Unbeknownst to him, something whisked past him. Its reflection shimmered on the car's sleek body—a disfigured face staring back at Jack. Its lips muttered a few words.

  Perhaps, it was the wind again. But, Jack recognized it clearly this time and froze. The child's voice was loud in his ears.

  "I want to eat."