"It is time to get up," the house AI stated calmly.

Jared rolled over in bed and stared at the bright light leaking around the bed room curtains. He was sure he had just gotten himself into bed a moment ago, but sighed and dragged himself up. Being late would never do. 

Sitting at the kitchen table, he pulled up the feeds and let the news run while he ate his cereal. 

A major rush-hour derailment has brought chaos to the city’s subway system, shutting down several lines and leaving officials scrambling for answers. Conflicting reports have surfaced about the cause and extent of the incident—some sources claim two trains collided, with hundreds dead or missing, while transit authorities insist the derailment was minor, triggered by debris or a braking system failure, and that there were no injuries. Officials have urged passengers to contact their families and employers to confirm their safety, though they remain unable to explain the prolonged delays in clearing the tracks. Rumors are also circulating that the Mindwreckers may have been involved, though the organization denies any role. Despite official reassurances, local hospitals report no influx of injured passengers, fueling speculation as witnesses and commuters alike question what really happened—and where the missing riders have gone.

His communicator beeped softly and he reached up to touch the small button just in front of his left ear, picking up the call.

"Good morning," he said, already sure who was calling.

"Have you seen the news this morning?" Kate asked.

He nodded and then answered, "I have it on now."

"Well, that's your assignment," she stated.

He snorted. "Have have you got?"

“Based on our team’s findings, the local subway system was, frankly, overdue for a derailment. Given current maintenance standards and budget constraints, these kinds of mechanical failures are less an anomaly and more a matter of time. However, what truly drew our attention wasn’t the derailment itself—it was the pattern surrounding it. Police reports indicate a marked increase in missing persons cases connected to this location and the surrounding blocks. Authorities have been investigating quietly, suspecting either a serial offender or organized criminal activity in the area. But the deeper we looked, the stranger the pattern became. Many of those who vanished fall into two categories: transients and drug users—some later found beheaded across the city—and, more disturbingly, working professionals who inexplicably liquidated their assets, maxed out credit cards, and disappeared completely. Our current hypothesis is that a cult, or some kind of coordinated ideological group, may be responsible for both the disappearances and the derailment itself.” she explained.

"Send me the files and the address," he said, pushing the rest of his breakfast away.

Grabbing his jacket, he headed out the door. The files arrived and he accessed the address. It was near by.

The rain poured down, pattering onto the umbrella. He closed his eyes and let the sound soothe him for a moment. Indulging for long wasn't an option. The walk light had turned green and he crossed the street. Splashing through the puddles, he moved along the side walk towards his assignment.

Taking the stairs, he headed down into the sub way station, ducking beneath the tape that blocked off the area. Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, it was easy to see what had happened here. A train had derailed. It laid on its side across the platform with the front end smashed against the concrete wall. Twisted metal and glass littered the floor. The lights flickered.

Jared stared out at the scene. Emergency services had already done there jobs and had collected up the survivors. But there had been strange reports. Some said there had been a creature on the train before it crashed. Something about a grey man with tentacles on his face. There had also been those that claimed people had been kidnapped and carried away before the emergency services arrived. Of course, these reports were likely the rambles of the deliriously injured and that would be the official report. But he knew that there was truth in it. A tingling in his bones told him that magic had been in use.

He stepped out into the debris, crunching over the glass and kicking aside bits of metal. Splotches of blood marked the places where people had fought for their lives. He moved to the train and hefted himself up onto it so that he could then lower himself inside through the gaping door. It was dark inside the train with only the flickering lights from the platform to light it.

Looking down the length of the train, he let a tendril of Dark uncoil and waft through the train. As it moved, he picked up snatches of emotion and glimpses of vision. Fear. Screaming. The screeching metal. A pulse of something beneath it. Old. Hunger. Tentacles reaching out of the shadows. A large figure carrying people away.

Running the finger tips of his right hand along the roof of the train as he walked, he focused his mind on everything he was seeing. Glass ground down to sparkling dust. Blood smeared on a torn seat. He duck beneath the bar, noting the oily hand prints along the dull surface. A discarded purse. A crumpled hat. An umbrella.

"You should mind your business," a deep voice growled at him.

He closed his eyes and severed the line of Dark that was unspooling from him. He turned around to face the speaker. There was no one in the train with him.

"We don't care for the likes of you," the voice grated.

"And what am I?" He asked.

He lifted himself out of the trained by pulling himself up through a broken window. The ragged glass on the edge cut into his palms and blood ran down his fore arms.

"Department Dog," it spat.

Jared could see the speaker now. It was an ogre, standing in the center of the platform, looking up at him.

He regarded the ogre as he moved to the edge of the train and dropped down to the platform. It was easily twice his height. Not that it was really remarkable to be taller than him as he was only 4' 10". But generally, people didn't loomed over him so much that he was eye level with their belly buttons. It was also muscular. It carried a metal staff and a large shield. If it hit him with that staff, his bones would break.

"And what do you have against the Department?" he asked, already aware of a long list of reasons for the Shadow Kind to hate him.

It snarled at him and swung his staff while lunging forward. Jared dove to the ground, letting himself slide through the debris on his side as he pulled out his pistols. The staff slammed hard against the empty space where he had been standing. The clang hurt his ears. He pulled the triggers, taking aim at the ogres meaty chest as it turned to face him. The bullets hit home, but seemed only to make the ogre angrier.

Jared lurched to his feet and ran across the platform, leaping over debris as he came to it. He could hear the heavy thumps of the orge's foot falls behind him. Resisting the urge to look, he sprinted to the edge of the platform and jumped to the other side. He landed gracefully and slid himself to a stop, turning to raise his guns at the ogre. He took another two shots and saw that they landed home.

The ogre roared at him and bared its teeth. Jared, feeling safer now that he was out of reach, stood and took aim. Another two shots. But the bullets hit nothing. The staff whipped through the air and slammed against Jared's flank, breaking his ribs and knocking him to the ground. He hadn't see the damn ogre call on the Dark, but he must have. Scrambling backwards, he was able to dodge the staff as it came hurtling down at him. Jared scooted back again and then paused, feeling the edge of the platform. With the staff coming at him again, he let himself fall.

The wind rushed out of him when he hit the ground, hard on his back. The ogre looked down at him and laughed. Jared didn't wait. He got to his feet and put two more bullets in the ogre. It roared and jumped down next to him. He ran, doing his best to keep distance between himself and the orge's staff. But it was again at his side without him seeing it move or summon the Dark. The staff struck him again. This time breaking ribs on the left side, but he managed to keep his feet with a staggering shuffle.

Jared yelled, letting the pain fuel him. He channeled it like fire into his flesh, opening himself to the Dark. He took two quick steps back and stuffed his guns back into their holsters. This time, when the ogre appeared at his side, he was ready for it. He spun into the orge's space and slammed his palms against the orge's chest.

"Flame!" He screamed.

He felt the Dark unleash from inside him and flood out his hands. Upon touching the air, it blossomed into fire and engulfed the ogre. He staggered back, clutching his stomach and desperately blocking the torrent of Dark that pour out of him. Containing it, he sat down and regarded the charred corpse of the ogre.

Jared fished the nanobots injector from his pack. He flipped off the protective cover and then pressed the auto injector against his thigh. It felt like he was stabbed, but after a few seconds he could feel the soothing warmth spreading in his blood stream.