Evening Before The Sun Went Down:
Rob had just left Dr. Hart's office, holding a file containing Vincent's old research papers. He tucked it into his coat as he strolled down the school street. He had agreed to meet Victor and Grant in front of the management building, and as he approached, he spotted them near Victor's car. Grant was holding a rolled-up paper in his hand.
"Yo," Rob greeted.
Grant responded with a stink-eye, while Victor acknowledged him with a nod. "Hey, Rob."
"How'd it go? Did you find anything concerning your case?" Victor asked.
'Can't reveal too much.'
"Yeah, I found more information about one of the stolen bodies—turns out he was a lecturer here. I thought I could find a pattern, but it wasn't much help."
"What about the students? Did you find anything about them?" Grant asked.
'Probably shouldn't tell them Vincent is connected to the students too.'
"Well, no, I..."
"Were you even looking?" Grant cut him off, irritation lacing his voice. "We have five students that could be dead and a potential serial killer on the loose, and you thought it was more important to track a grave thief?"
Rob was momentarily at a loss for words, but Victor jumped in. "Back off, Grant. I was the one who got him to come here, even though I knew he was on another case. If anyone's at fault, it's me."
"It's fine, he's right." Rob spoke up. "I'll try to focus more on the students. Since the grave digger hasn't done anything recently that labels him a threat, the missing students are the priority."
Grant stepped closer, jabbing a finger into Rob's chest. "If you're not interested in helping us find these students, I suggest you leave."
'This guy has no idea who he's talking to.' Rob thought.
"Alright, that's enough, Grant," Victor interjected.
Grant backed off and leaned against the car again.
"Talking like this must mean you guys found something useful," Rob said.
"Yeah," Victor replied.
Grant unrolled the paper in his hand, revealing architectural plans. He spread them out on the hood of Victor's car.
"What's that?" Rob moved closer to get a better look. "These look like plans for underground passageways."
"Exactly. We did a lot of digging to find this. Turns out, the school has old utility tunnels that were part of an outdated sewage drainage system. They were also used for heating pipes and electrical wiring before modern infrastructure took over."
"And that's not all—check this out," Victor pointed to a section of the plans. "The tunnels lead into the woods."
"Hey, that looks like the area where the villa is," Rob noted.
"Exactly."
"You think Julian might have connected the passage in the house to these tunnels?" Rob suggested.
"That's the idea. If we can't find a way into the tunnels from inside the house, then we go in from another entrance." Victor pointed at a tunnel exit not too far from the villa that seemed accessible.
"The tunnel system is huge. If we go searching tonight, we won't get far," Grant commented.
"Yeah, it's getting pretty late," Rob agreed.
"Then we go tomorrow morning. For now, let's head back to the villa," Victor said.
"Sure."
They all climbed into Victor's car and drove off.
Now, the sun was nearly down as they drove along the rugged path. The car jolted and shook over the uneven terrain.
"My car wasn't built for this," Victor grumbled.
"You know, we have off-road vehicles that the conservation officers use to get around the reserve. We could've used those," Grant remarked.
Victor shot him an incredulous look. "Why didn't you mention that earlier?"
Grant shrugged. "You never asked."
Rob smirked. "You might want to keep your eyes on the road."
Victor turned back just in time to steer past a nasty dip. By the time they reached the villa, night had fully set in. With the blueprints still in Grant's hand, they exited the vehicle and headed inside.
'Now to wait for them to sleep,' Rob thought.
"I'll go take a shower," he said as an excuse, then slipped away to his room. The moment he shut the door, he pulled the file from inside his coat and tossed it onto the bed. Then he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower—just for the noise—before returning to the bed to examine the documents.
"The Theoretical Framework for Interdimensional Travel and The Discovery of an Unknown Energy."
By Vincent Ramirez.
Rob's interest piqued. 'The discovery of an unknown energy? Could it be?'
He skimmed through the abstract.
'This paper explores the hypothesis that all supernatural phenomena—including ghosts, apparitions, and anomalous entities—originate from a parallel dimension I have named 'The Other World.' It also presents the discovery of an unidentified energy permeating our reality, which I call 'Vril.' Unlike known physical forces, Vril operates beyond conventional understanding, exhibiting properties that suggest a connection to other dimensions. This research seeks to define its nature, explore its implications, and provide proof of The Other World's existence.'
Rob flipped the page.
'From what I can tell, Vril and Numen are essentially the same thing—just different names. Vincent believed Vril somehow kept the two worlds separated, and by studying it, he might uncover a way to access this Other World.'
As he read on, Vincent's theories grew more intricate. The document wove real physics and chemistry principles with bizarre, almost fantastical concepts. Hand-drawn diagrams filled the pages—raw, unsettling illustrations that seemed ripped straight from Vincen's nightmares. They depicted strange creatures, each more grotesque than the last—some with horns, some covered in fur, others scaled or humanoid.
Vincent claimed these beings wielded incomprehensible powers, drawing their strength from Vril itself.
Rob turned another page, and a bold title caught his eye.
"How to Summon a Demon from the Other World."
He read on.
According to Vincent, he had theorized a method to puncture the fabric between the two worlds, but fear had kept him from testing it. The explanation was a fusion of physics equations and unknown symbols, most of which went over Rob's head. However, the moment he saw the summoning diagram, something clicked.
'This circle—it's almost identical to the one left by the grave digger. And these symbols... they match the strange writing found at the crime scene.'
He kept reading, but the deeper he went, the more overwhelming it became. The complexity of Vincent's research was staggering. Rob realized that fully understanding it would require hours of study—time he simply didn't have.
He exhaled and shut the file.
'Grant is right. The missing students take priority. But… Vincent founded the Shadow Seekers, and Jeffrey Hogan—one of the missing students—was interested in his work. If I solve this case and stop whatever monster is on the loose, it might lead me straight to the grave digger.'
With that thought, he leaned back and let his mind process everything.
Later, after Victor and Grant had gone to sleep, Rob seized the chance to slip out. He climbed through the window, moving swiftly through the trees before leaping into the air and soaring toward the campus.
This time, he flew directly over the school, heading toward the male staff quarters. He landed silently atop one of the buildings to avoid drawing attention.
'Now to make my way to Thornton's room,' he thought.
Just as he turned to move, he froze—Lucky Paws stood right in front of him.
"Lina? What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"Don't call me that! I'm in costume—call me Lucky Paws."
Rob pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dang it, Lina. Just answer the question."
She huffed. "Fine. I figured you'd come back to search Thornton's room since you tailed him yesterday, so I came to help."
Rob sighed. He had told her to stay out of this, but she was too stubborn to listen. After a moment, he let out a breath to calm himself.
"Fine. But we're only searching Thornton's room. That's it."
"Yay!" Lina cheered softly.
Rob shook his head and walked toward the edge of the roof, Lina following close behind.
"How do you plan on getting inside, anyway?" she asked.
Rob recalled the previous day. "Well, I couldn't enter while he was inside. Even if I were invisible, I wouldn't have been able to search, and I'd have to wait for him to open the door to sneak out." He leaned over the edge. "But from outside, I noticed his window was unlocked."
With that, he leaped off the roof.
As he fell toward the window, he condensed flames at his hands and feet to slow his descent, using his control over sound to muffle the noise. Steadying himself midair, he extinguished the flames on his hands, carefully lifted the window, and crawled inside.
Lina watched from the rooftop.
"You good? You can make it in, right? If not, I can catch you," Rob said in a hushed voice.
"Hmph."
Lina took a step back, bent her knees, and then sprang forward. She somersaulted over the edge, twisting midair in a perfect arc that sent her sailing through the window. She landed gracefully beside him.
Rob raised a brow. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"I took gymnastics classes at the mall."
He smirked. "Guess who's not home."
Lina turned toward the bed and found it empty.
"Where could Thornton be at this time of night?"
"Who knows? But this works out for us—makes searching easier." Rob moved toward the desk.
Lina joined in. "How were you planning on searching the room without waking him up if he was here?"
"I can control sound to some degree."
Lina scoffed. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Of course. I can't heal people," he said.
She chuckled. "Right." She pulled open a drawer. "What exactly are we looking for?"
Rob crouched to check under the bed, summoning a small flame on his finger to chase away the darkness. "Anything unusual. But specifically, look for documents with concepts you don't understand—and anything with the name Vincent Ramirez on it."
"Got it."
They scoured every corner of the room.
"Find anything?" Lina asked.
"Nothing," Rob replied.
"Same here."
Rob stood in the center of the room, scanning his surroundings.
'Maybe my hunch was wrong. Maybe he's just an ordinary lecturer.'
Lina rocked on her heels. "Sooo… are we leaving now, or—?"
"Hold on."
An illusion began to form around them. Rob had memorized the room's original state when they entered, and now he reconstructed it to make sure they left everything exactly as they found it.
Lina watched in awe. "Wow. You are totally OP."
"I don't think I am. My master was way stronger than me," Rob said absently.
His illusion revealed that some books on the dresser weren't arranged properly.
"Mind fixing those?" he asked.
Lina quickly set them back in place.
"Alright, let's get out of here before he comes back," Rob said, moving to the window.
"Right behind you."
They crawled out and climbed back onto the roof.
"Well, I gotta head back. Good night, Lina," Rob said before making his exit.
"Night," Lina replied, giving him a small wave.
Rob flew back to the villa. The grounds were as silent as a graveyard. It was past 2 a.m.—even nature seemed to be asleep. Not a single cricket chirped, nor did a toad croak.
He was about to crawl in through his window when his ears picked up the distant rumble of an engine.
From the path ahead, the glaring headlights of an off-roader Jeep sliced through the darkness. The vehicle tore into the villa compound at reckless speed, skidding to a haphazard stop on the driveway.
The horn sounded—long and frantic—before the driver's door suddenly burst open. A man in a BU Park Ranger uniform tumbled out, his movements erratic.
"Please! I need help!" he shouted into the still night, his voice raw with terror. He was shaking as though he had seen a ghost.
Rob jumped down from the window and rushed toward him.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice.
Grant and Victor hurried out the front door.
"What's happening? Is everything alright?" Victor asked.
The man's wild eyes darted between them. "That thing—it ate Maya," he gasped.
"What thing?" Rob asked sharply.
The ranger clutched his head with both hands. "It—it swallowed her whole. I—I've never seen anything like it," he stammered, his gaze distant, like he was reliving a nightmare.
"What the heck is he talking about?" Grant muttered, annoyed.
"Who is this guy?" Victor asked.
"His name's Alex Ryder," Grant explained. "He's a conservation officer—one of the people in charge of protecting the local wildlife and plants. He had a partner, Maya… right?"
"Maya! Why'd it have to take Maya?!" Alex cried, his voice cracking. "It should have been me!"
Rob crouched in front of him and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Alex, listen to me. You need to calm down so we can understand what happened."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Alex shouted.
"I know you're scared," Rob said evenly.
"You don't know!"
"I do. You saw something terrifying, but panicking won't help. Breathe. Focus."
Alex clenched his jaw, but Rob's words seemed to reach him. Slowly, his breathing steadied.
"...Sorry about that," he muttered.
"It's fine," Rob reassured him. "Now, start from the beginning. What happened? What did you see?"
Alex swallowed hard, taking a moment to collect himself.
"It was just several minutes ago..."