Mad Father: Fanfic

“Wow… so, mysterious,” the young girl giggled to another as a young man passed by hastily. He wore a hood; it shaded the top half of his face. ‘I don’t need all this… attention,’ he thought. The young man’s name was Dio, he was on an important mission from well… heaven. He wore a simple shirt and rugged pants. Dio clutched several papers in his tight fist.

The small town used to be peaceful. Until a chain of disappearances caused the town to exchange peace and solitude for havoc. Most citizens in this secluded town barricaded their doors at night, in fear the same fate will fall upon them as did the abductees.

Dio pulled his hood off and looked at the woman at the Inn’s front desk. She held the feather and quill loosely as she stared dreamily at him, “How may I help you, sir?” He looked back at her through his carelessly placed golden bangs, “One room, please?” He muttered it just audible for the woman to hear, she fumbled, blindly, with the keys hanging behind her. “Yes, yes of course. Ten coins for a night,” she paused as she took Dio in a second time, “…but for you it’ll be five with a small favor.”  She dangled the keys before him, seductively. Dio snatched the keys out of her grasp and laid the ten coins on the desk.

He sighed as he threw open the door. The room was a single bed, a dresser, and a mirror. The wallpaper was peeling and the room had a musky smell, but Dio didn’t care. All he cared about was finding her. He unattached the hood and pulled his shirt off. Looking at himself in the mirror, he gave a frustrated sigh. The bandage over his eye with still there.

“Why is it that I still have this retched face?” He had asked her.

“She will remember,” was all the woman said to him before he left.

“She will fear me. Just like she did before,” he cursed himself in the mirror. His other brown eye was still there though, a remainder of his once whole face. Mrs. Dravis had given him a sturdy body. No, not the one piece he hoped to get back. “Damn it all,” he muttered to himself, “I’m here for one purpose only…” He spread the sheets of paper along the bed. Each had a sketch of a young man or woman’s face. Each had a disappearance date, name, and other personal facts. It listed if they had a disease, disorder, or class.

Dio had memorized each; he knew everything about the disappearances. Probably more than what the local police knew. Not that they would know much, their cowering in a corner of the station. Refusing to go into the woods, where most have vanished.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black and white photo, Dio stared at it. Dravis must have put it there before his dispatch as a reminder of her appearance. Of course he wouldn’t forget her appearance, especially of their last encounter, although it was years ago. He placed a charm upon her, “May you be smiled upon… Aya.” He repeated those words while caressing the small picture of the girl’s face with his thumb. His smug grew into a sad smile. Dio hadn’t smiled like this for a while now…