Death in the Family

I

"This is the house," the servant led Jurko and Aida to the front of a mansion just as the sun was setting.

The house is separated from other houses. And what distinguishes it the most from other houses is that this house is made of teak wood. While the other houses are located on the side of the road, the Ahlan family's house is a little bit into an area covered by trees and shrubs. They certainly have privacy in life.

A door guarded by two armed soldiers. Djuanda invited the two guests into the house. Jurko saw the house looks clean, no sign of murder. The living room is still comfortable with benches and pillows, the kitchen is still arranged for the pots and fryers in the drawer. They walked through the house towards the door of the room at the back of the house.

"This is the room," Djuanda held the doorknob. "The place where Mr and Mrs Ahlan were found dead and later their child."

He turned it around and stood directly behind the wooden door he opened. Jurko and Aida looked into the room, blood splattered on the wooden walls and floor. The furniture is messed up, scattered on the floor. The wooden shelves were covered in blood, some of which fell on the floor.

"Come in," said Jurko to Aida.

The woman stomped into the room, noticing any blood staining the walls. Each blood has a unique splash position, and there is also something that doesn't make sense.

"Tell me what you saw," Jurko crossed his arms and monitored Aida who was figuring out what just happened. "Don't worry about the amount of blood, try to come up with a story that makes sense. Why is the blood on the walls. Where did this killer come from."

Aida started to spin her head, she was unable to comprehend the situation. Then she heard Jurko's voice.

"Talk to me, say what you see," Jurko said enough to make Aida come back to her senses.

"Blood splattered on the walls. Sudden bleeding," the woman's breath slowed.

"Good, what else do you see?" the old inquisitor leaned against the door.

Aida looked around the room, and a light came to her face.

The moon had just come out, its light blinded Aida's glasses. She raised her hand, trying to close the light. She accidentally saw broken glass from the direction of the light. She walked with one hand raised to cover the moonlight. When she got close enough, she saw that the glass windows of this house had been scattered on the floor.

She squatted down and picked up a piece of glass that was unique to her. A shard of glass covered in blood.

"Blood stained glass? A murder weapon?"

"Good. But why did the glass break?"

Aida noticed that there was an indentation in the hinge of the window. It was as if something had hit it very hard.

"There's a tussle here, and a strong shove against the window. The glass is shattered, the hinges nearly come off the wall."

"But, where did this killer come from?" Djuanda spoke from behind the door, Aida could not see him.

"Good question. Aida, can you find out?"

"From that door?"

"How is that possible," commented Djuanda. "This is the dining room. We found this room with the key still hanging on the door. It means Mr or Mrs Ahlan opened it."

"If not from the door, from where?"

Jurko pointed to the window. Aida looked at the broken window and walked over to it. And just as Jurko thought, the masked woman found footprints to and from the forest just outside the window.

"There are footprints there."

"Is it true?" said Djuanda.

"Was it raining then?"

"No, it was raining two days before we found their bodies. Right at night, about ten to eleven? That's about four days ago."

"Looks like we now know when he died," said Jurko simply.

"But, what did the killer use to injure both of them."

Aida looked at the large shelf that had fallen in front of her feet, where she saw a pool of blood. She could imagine what had made the blood pool, the head being crushed by the wooden shelf.

On the wall she saw a large amount of blood being dragged down to the floor. At the door she saw a drop of blood pointing elsewhere. Seeing it made Aida follow where the drops took her. She passed Jurko and Djuanda who were waiting for him to find out the origin of the murder.

"She's a fast learner," said Jurko to the waiter.

Aida followed the path into the kitchen. A handprint wanting to reach, or rather take something from the small wooden cupboard hanging on the wall. Aida tried to open it but she couldn't. Jurko came to his aid and forced it open by pulling forcefully. The closet door opened and Jurko threw it away.

Inside Aida finds medicine and an untouched bandage.

"They want to take the dressing, someone was bleeding here."

"Yes, I wanted to talk about this before. This is where the young master was found. He is lifeless, and his stomach is covered in blood."

"Alright," said Jurko. "That means he was stabbed in the stomach," he turned to Aida. "Sorry Aida, but we don't have much time. I want us to see their bodies, but we only want to find the suspect."

"Yes. Joko is a... how should I put it. He is a street person who is usually found on the streets of this village. But when the murder took place, he was nowhere to be found."

"How do you know that he killed them?" Aida asked.

Djuanda glanced at the floor, wanting the woman to see him. Aida and the two men were standing on the floor painted with blood, Joko's name was written in red.

"Your young master's last writing?" said Jorko. "Shit. This is insane. Let's follow in his footsteps then, Aida."

Jurko walks out, Aida followed behind him, and the maid stood there in their residence.

Jurko walked quickly to where Joko's footprints were with Aida. There the woman could see nothing but pure darkness. Jurko snapped his fingers and a fire appeared in his palm, Aida was a little surprised.

"Can you see?"

"A little," the woman answered.

"Good, we don't need to see everything. Now follow the trail."

The two people walked in the darkness of the forest, the sounds of owls and crickets could be heard clearly. Aida's vision confined to her mask only got worse as darkness fell.

"Master Jurko. He might not be anywhere near here. He could have run a few kilometers from the Ahlan's house."

"Surely like people in need and poverty, he must have a place to live. Maybe caves, trees, and maybe a house he made himself. Nature is on his right and left, ready to build a house."

"But, in the dark like this?"

"Aida, I heard once again that you are troubled by this way of working..." Jurko swallowed his annoyance and stopped. "Listen, young one. I'm not doing this because I understand you're new here. I'm doing this because my friend, who is sick, is sleeping in a liquid tank. He wants me to make you proficient in the savage world, wether in the spearhead or not. So please, do this for Nazeir. He wants you to survive and understand that the world is much dirtier than you think. Good sorcerers? That's bullshit! They're massacring inquisitors, whe did nothing to them. Now, hear me out and follow in our footsteps. Do you understand what I just said?" Jurko glared.

"I do," Aida faced the ground.

"Good because I feel someone is looking around," Jurko's eyes darted from side to side.

"The one from Tuo's house?"

"Yes..."

Jurko turned around and started walking again following the dirt trail.

II

Jurko and Aida stopped after a few minutes of walking. Both of them saw the trace was gone. The inquisitor growled, he looked around the surroundings. His pupils constricted, and Aida saw the man walking around in the darkness. Wanting to catch up to the agile Jurko, Aida stumbles and falls where the trail disappeared.

Jurko looked at the woman, her coat dirty with dry earth. When the masked woman wanted to stand up, the inquisitor restrained her from getting up.

"Stop!"

Jurko took a few steps back and looked at Aida's position. His eyes opened wide, aware of a new clue.

"What is it?" Aida looked at Jurko.

"He's here. Right where you lay," Jurko pointed at Aida. "Quick, find a new trail. It must be here."

Aida stood up from her fall and saw the plant roots growing out of her dropping her. Brown roots, and blood red? Aida immediately saw the red color very clearly from her glass, and of course she found a blood wound by accident.

"There's a blood!"

"Where?"

Jurko immediately jumped and saw a drop of blood that Aida found. He looked at it with interest. Aida could see Jurko's pupils dilate and contract several times, then the old inquisitor looked down the dirt.

"There."

Jurko walked with Aida behind him not understanding at all what the old inquisitor was doing. A few minutes of walking and he could hear the sound of the river flowing. Through the bushes, the two finally arrived at a location where there was a former bonfire. Jurko moved the logs, feeling whether they were hot with his feet.

"He used to sleep here. But long gone."

"Where to?"

Jurko his ears twitched. Aida saw the man quietly standing there facing the logs of the bonfire.

"Old-"

Jurko pushed Aida behind him. He stood up straight and ate the blow of the arrow stuck in the chest of his armor. Jurko looked behind the trees, something or someone is hiding there.

Aida gasped when the arrow hit Jurko, and what was amazing was that the old man was still standing tall. Jurko pulled the arrow out of his armor, and threw it on the ground. The inquisitor pulled out his dagger and raised it directly behind his head. He aimed at the bushes, and at that moment Aida saw the bushes moving.

Jurko threw his dagger, then a scream came from behind the bushes. Jurko lit the bonfire with his hand. He immediately walked behind the bushes.

"Keep position," ordered Jurko.

Aida stood guarded by the firelight. He saw Jurko passing through the bushes, and the sound of a sword being drawn was heard. Hearing that voice made Aida pull out her dagger. The bushes were swaying again after a few minutes of Jurko being there.

Suddenly, a man with a bloody leg came from the forest. He groaned in pain and fell before Aida. That person looked at the masked human figure in front of him, looking at him with a cold gaze. He who panicked became even more panicked. The person jumped to his feet on one leg and tried to run away.

Jurko came out of the darkness with a sword full of blood. He pointed at the runaway man with the tip of the long sword.

"Arrest him, Aida."

Hearing Jurko's words, Aida immediately rushed after the person who was not far from her. Seeing Aida who was behind him walking slowly, the man jumped on his way faster. He was so scared, he fell accidentally running from Aida. He looked at the masked person walking towards him. He started crawling with both hands away from Aida.

His feet were held by a cold glove. Aida began to pull him back in front of Jurko. The man was heavy on the masked woman, making her tug long. The man did not rebel, he just gave up to what would happen to him.

Aida presented the man in front of Jurko who was standing in front of the bonfire. He saw Jurko's feet in front of his face. The inquisitor rolled the man over to the fire. The man screamed in fear.

"Please! Please don't kill me," he cried. "I will do as you ask!"

"Anything I asked for?"

"Yes!" he nodded. "Any."

Jurko was silent for a moment, Aida looked at him not knowing what the inquisitor would say.

"You're lying," Jurko pushed himself with his feet towards the hot fire.

"Wait, wait! I'm really going to talk!"

The man was still pushed slowly towards the blazing fire. He could see sparks of flames floating in the air, his face averted from the flames. He could feel the heat that wanted to burn his face. Aida closed her eyes behind her breath mask.

"Open your eyes, young one," said Jurko without looking at her.

The girl suprised to heard that knowing well that people couldn't see pas through the mask, but the old inquisitor knows.

"Please... I was sent to slow down your search!"

Hearing those words was enough to make Jurko stop pushing him.

"Who send you?"

"My captain!"

"Who? I didn't hear," Jurko shook him with his feet.

"Captain Vallie. We're a group of demon hunters who are looking for the whereabouts of the Ahlan family killer."

"I know that," Jurko pointed the man's face at the fire with his foot. "What I want to know is where is your captain?"

"I- I don't know," his voice trailed off.

"Lies," Jurko brought the man closer to the fire.

"Stop!" he shouted.

"Damn it, master Jurko.. he's already spoken."

"Shut up, Aida," said Jurko to his student. "Where's your captain?"

"We landed on the north side of the island. That's all I know!"

"Where is your camp?"

"Last time I was there, the camp was right by our ships."

"How many ships?"

"Just one!" he let out a cry.

The inquisitor nodded before stomping him on the head. Aida jumped hysterically with what she saw, screaming behind her mask

"Shut it, Aida! Remember what I said."

Aida was still frozen there, and she started walking again when her name was called by the inquisitor.

"This is how we work," Jurko explained while walking.

"But of course you don't need to knock him out in such a... brutal way!"

"He is young, he will live. Young and stupid, just like his group. I didn't give him a scar, maybe for a while," Jurko paused. "Or permanent."

"What happens if they come after us now?"

"We have been targeted from the start, did you not hear what that person said. But at the end of this job, they will be targeted. One way or another."

Aida gulped and silently followed the inquisitor. They walked a few kilometers from the bonfire. And his journey stopped at a small clearing in the jungle he was exploring.

"Here we will meet, understand?"

"Wait a minute, we haven't talked yet, what should we do?"

"We split up, his trail ends here."

"Are you sure sir?"

"Sure of course," he breathed. "I smell... fear," Jurko tilted his head in one direction. "Quickly find out where this person is."

The two split up, Aida walked to the west searching for clues.

Aida didn't know where she was going, she just walked behind the trees and bushes hoping to find what she was looking for. She hopped over the bushes, trying to slip into a place she couldn't reach.

The moonlight illuminates this clearing and makes it easy for the woman to find this target. She accidentally slipped on a slippery rock, the sound of her body hitting the ground was heard.

When her head spins dizzy, came the figure of an old man in tattered clothes. He stood in front of Aida with a large rock in hand, ready to smack the girl in the head.

Aida grabbed his leg and kicked the man down. The stone fell on the ground, Aida immediately pressed the man's body on the ground with his feet on Joko's chest. The man's eyes were frightened, his hands were raised in surrender. He shook his head, his gaze showing that he was begging for mercy from the masked woman.

"Don't kill me," his voice broke. "Please. I need to live. Give me a chance," his lips pursed. "Help."

"And why should I have mercy on a serial killer who just got loose in the wild? Killing a whole family just for... what did you do?"

"Please understand why I did this..." Joko moaned in tears in front of Aida. Seeing that the girl had heard his words, Jurko tried to explain himself. "I have a child, he's waiting for me to bring food, he's starving! Please, please..." he began to plead under Aida's boots and sobbing. "He's a kid, he needs me for all of this. I can't just leave them. I'm doing this for him. I killed for my son!"

Hearing those words made Aida frazzled. Her heart was beating with pressure. A father who kills for his son? Will she forgive the man or kill him right here.

"Was it worth it?" Aida was silent for a moment. Her hands began to shake, her body immediately motionless.