ch. 21 Hunted

"Fuck, what was that!?" Nick watched the surroundings vigilantly.

Seeing how defensive the man was and how quickly drew his gun at Nick's question, Nick thought the man was simply a serial killer or possibly a human trafficker. He only worried about what that creature that jumped out of the bushes was, so he was completely on guard.

After a while of checking his surroundings vigilantly, Nick came to the man who was downed and after seeing that there was no abnormal movement around him.

Nick saw the slovenly man had two shots in the collar bone and neck with the last one being a perfect headshot, quick drawing maybe fast but it also greaty reduces accuracy.

Cautiously confiscated the revolver and searching his body, Nick made sure that there were no other weapons or other valuable clues before approaching the house carefully.

As soon as he opened the door, a fishy smell flooded his nose but it wasn't of rotting meat, instead it was of rotten garbage.

The small house was in a similar state as the man outside, it was filled with broken furniture and rotting food with a musty smell of mold and decay.

Nick frowned at the smell and the countless number of flies buzzing throughout the house but he searched the filthy house and made an important discovery.

Under the bed where the man slept, Nick found an old burlap sack that when opened was filled with wallets, jewelry, car keys and other items of value.

Nick was of course wearing gloves as even with his body having been boosted by absorbing another human, he felt like he could catch some incurable disease from the filthiness of this place.

Looking through the bag, he found some things that were new and old, but the majority of it was stained in blood that told Nick all he needed.

'So the disappearances really were just a serial killer, sucks that it wasn't a creature with abilities I could absorbed but I guess I prevented him from killing anyone else... I'll call in forensics to search this place once I get some actual phone service, the satellite phone is reserved for emergencies only.'

Putting the bag back to where he found it, Nick began leaving when he stopped as saw a middle aged white man standing next to the corpse.

The old man saw Nick in a black suit, sunglasses, and plastic gloves staring at him analytically. He trembled and stretched his hand quickly to his waist but before he could even grasp his gun, Nick's was pointed straight at the man's head.

"Freeze! N.I.A.! Hands in the air!" Hearing this, the old man freezed before complying to Nick's demands

"Your NIA? I'm a former New York City crime detective, this is a misunderstanding!"

Looking at the man's face and body language, Nick felt like the man wasn't lying but he still have him a once over just go be safe. Searching the man and taking his gun and wallet, Nick found a picture of the middle aged man decades younger posing with a dozen other officers in a precinct.

Careful handing the man's stuff back to him, Nick holstered his pistol but wasnt taking his eyes off of him for a minute, ready to draw at a moments notice.

"Your from New York, what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico." Nick said in a neutral tone, not suspicious but not friendly.

With a bitter smile on his face, the retired detective shook his head.

"My brilliant wife wanted to go on vacation with the family, when mid way through my idiot son in law broke the GPS. Needless to say we got lost and eventually the RV somehow got two flat tires, so i came here to ask for help only to stumble upon his body... You wouldn't mind if I see your ID would you?"

Understanding the man's suspicion, Nick handed his his ID and after thirty seconds of the man checking handed it back.

"I only asked the filthy man about any strange disappearances in the area and he immediately drew his gun. After taking care of him, I searched the place and found a bag filled with bloody items that have obviously been looted."

A look of worry and slight relief washed upon the middle aged man's face, he was glad that he didn't show up alone to this man asking for help and end up a victim.　

"You said your RV crashed? I'm not a mechanic but I can drive you and your family to the nearest town, the desert is a a dangerous place at night." Feeling an obligation to help out a family in destress, Nick decided to go above and beyond his duty as an N.I.A. agent.

"Thank you, my name's Bob Aston!" Bob said while extending his hand.

Despite having just read each other's ID, Nick reached forward and shook his hand.

"Names Nick Valentine, let's go get your family before it's dark. Id hate to get you guys to a town only for everything to be closed."

As Nick and Bob got into the SUV, a disheveled man holding a telescope observed the situation on top of a mountain a great distance away.

Seeing the two drive away, the man let out a loud grunt and multiple shadows flashed across the rocks and down the mountain after them.

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As the two drove to the crashed RV, Nick heard more details about bobs family.

In addition to Bob there are his wife Ethel, eldest daughter Lynn, son-in-law Doug, granddaughter Catherine, second daughter Brenda, and youngest son Bobby.

Not counting the one-year-old baby Catherine, there are already six people in this family. However, this is not over yet as Bob also brought two German shepherd dogs he raised.

Nick didn't mention that fact that some people were going to sit on one another s lap as his trunk was off limits to anyone.

Under Bob's guidance, Nick had drove over 3 miles as the sun was beginning to go down in the sky.

"I'm glad I ran into you Nick, Who knows what would have happe-" *Pop!* *Hissss*

While driving, the car suddenly let out a strange noise before shaking violently and veering off onto the right side if the road, forcing Nick to keep the car straight as he let off on the gas and slowly applied the brakes.

Slamming on the brakes in such a scenario would undoubtedly cause the car to flip over and crash.

Bob was in shock, clutching the handle tightly and said anxiously "What's the hell was that?"

Nick narrowed his eyes "Its should be a flat tire but if I was a betting man, something put a trap in the road that caused it.

Bob was taken aback, and then his face changed drastically "It's just like what happened to my car!"

"Obviously something doesn't want us to rescue your family." Nick sneered before suddenly stepping on the accelerator.

"It's a pity that idiot forgot, a flat tire doesn't mean I can't continue to drive!"

The engine roared, and the exhaust pipe emitted a puff of black smoke. The SUV with its right front wheel deflated was like a reawakened beast, roaring and hitting the road once again.

Feeling the violent bumpiness of the ride and seeing Nicks focusing on steering, Bob couldn't help but worry.

"The road conditions are too bad, and the wheels will not be able to stand it if you continue to drive like this. Not to mention they could plant more of those things that flattened our tires!"

"Who cares, it ain't my car! I don't care if they flatten all of my tires, I'll just drive on all rims if I have to! Civilian tax dollars are being put to good use and saving our lives!"