Chapter 22: The Network

Sarah's POV

Elena was lightning fast.

Elena was directly in front of Sheriff Morrison before he could even raise his gun. I heard bones crack as she tightened her grip on his wrist and twisted it. Morrison let out a cry and let his weapon fall.

"Run!" The three deputies were too terrified to move when I yelled at them.

Elena gazed at each deputy, her silver eyes blazing. "Go. Right now. Don't remember you were here.

There was no need to repeat the information to the deputies. As if their pants were on fire, they turned and bolted down the corridor.

Morrison was clutching his broken wrist while he was on his knees. "What are you?"

"Justice," Elena said plainly. Then she turned to face me. "We need Hayes to speak, Sarah. Right now."

I turned to Hayes, who was still frozen against the wall. "Start talking, or she gets creative with her questions."

Hayes's voice came out as a squeak. "What would you like to know?"

"Everything. How many people have you murdered? The bodies are where? Who else is involved?

Hayes began to ramble as he gazed into Elena's bright eyes. 43 victims over a 15-year period. While some are dispersed throughout three counties, the majority are interred in the woods behind my property.

My stomach turned over. 43 individuals. 43 families who never received a response.

"Who else is aware of this?" I insisted.

"Morrison assisted in its concealment. made certain that no investigations were conducted. filed fictitious reports.

Despite the coldness of the room, Morrison was perspiring. "Hayes, please stop talking!"

Elena knelt beside Morrison. "I believe you misinterpreted the circumstances, Sheriff. You are no longer in command.

Morrison froze when she put one finger to his forehead. He was unable to move or speak, but his eyes remained open.

I said, "What did you do to him?"

"He will be alright. However, he is now unable to stop Hayes from telling us the truth. Elena turned to face Hayes again. "Go on. Additionally, don't omit anything.

Hayes took a deep breath. "There are more. I am liked by others.

"Like you, what do you mean?"

"Killers. A few years ago, we connected online. began exchanging information.

My blood froze. "How many others?"

"There were six of us at first. Hayes looked anxiously at Elena. "But it's grown."

"How much has it grown?" Elena's voice was eerily silent.

Hayes began to tremble. "Twelve. Now perhaps more. We share victims, hunting locations, and strategies for avoiding detection on our private website.

I was ill. Hayes was no longer the only focus of this. There was an entire network of murderers.

"Give me names," I insisted.

Hayes stated, "Marcus Rivera was one of us before he disappeared." "There's Jennifer Black in Florida, Michael Torres in Texas, Lisa Wong in Nevada, and David Park in Oregon, among others."

Elena and I exchanged glances. In the last year, Elena claimed to have stopped seventeen murders. We were now discovering that they were all related.

"How does this website work?" I asked.

"We share information about possible victims. Exchange pictures. We occasionally cooperate on challenging targets or exchange territory.

Something I wanted to punch. Murder was being treated like a hobby club by these monsters.

"The website has a map feature," Hayes added. "In order for others to know which areas to avoid, members can mark where they've dumped bodies."

Elena slowly got to her feet. "We have a much bigger problem than we thought, Sarah."

"How big?"

Before Elena could respond, Hayes did. "There are currently more than 100 members on the website. They all support what we do, even though not all of them are active killers. Some offer financial assistance, while others provide details about possible victims.

One hundred individuals. One hundred murderers.

I inquired, "Where is this website?"

"You can find it on the dark web. To access it, you need specialized software. For security reasons, the address is changed once a month.

Elena grabbed my wrist as I reached for my phone to call for help.

"Wait, Sarah. Word may spread to other members if you report this through the regular channels. The entire network might vanish.

She was correct. Making formal reports could alert the other murderers if any police officers were covertly involved in this network.

"Then what do we do?"

Elena's face was serious. "This is something we manage ourselves. However, we must first understand everything.

She looked back at Hayes. "How do new members join?"

"They must demonstrate their worth. Kill someone and upload evidence to the website. After that, current members vote on whether to accept them.

"What kind of proof?"

Hayes appeared to be about to get sick. "Images. occasionally by video. In order for other members to confirm that the kill was authentic, they must also disclose the location where they left the body.

Anger was trembling my hands. These individuals were treating murder as though it were a game with membership requirements and rules.

"How do members interact with one another?"

"The website contains private messages. chat rooms that are encrypted. At conventions, some of them get together in person.

"Conventions?" What I was hearing was unbelievable.

"Yes. They pose as a hunting or camping club, but in reality, it's a group of murderers who plan future victims and exchange tactics."

Elena's silver eyes were becoming more radiant. "When is the next convention?"

"Next weekend. Colorado. About thirty members are anticipated to attend.

My thoughts were racing. Thirty murderers in one location. It might be an opportunity to shut down a sizable portion of this network at once.

However, it might also be a trap.

"Sarah," Elena said softly, "I have another thing to tell you."

"What now?"

"Do you recall that I've stopped seventeen murderers in the last year?"

"Yeah."

"This network included all of them. I've been hunting members of the same group, but I wasn't aware of it at the time.

Despite his terrified expression, Hayes burst out laughing. "You believe you can prevent us all? We become more cautious when members vanish. more well-structured.

I said, "What do you mean?"

"The rest of us grow from our mistakes every time someone like Elena eliminates one of our members. We adjust. We become more powerful.

Elena and I gazed at one another. Elena had unintentionally assisted the survivors in improving their ability to evade detection by hunting individual killers.

"That's not all," a sickly smiling Hayes said. Elena has been under investigation by the network. We now know who she is. What she is capable of. Additionally, we have been getting ready.

"Preparing how?" Elena had a dangerous voice.

Hayes smiled more broadly. "The Colorado convention? It's more than just a meeting. It's a trap. For you two."

My blood froze. "What kind of trap?"

"The other members are aware that Elena has been pursuing us. Through police databases that some of our members have access to, they have also been keeping an eye on Sarah. They are aware of your collaboration.

Hayes was caught by the shirt by Elena. "Tell me everything you know. "Now."

Members with specialized weapons surround the convention site. We could look into ways to harm supernatural beings using silver bullets, iron chains, and holy water.

The room seemed to be spinning. We had stopped hunting them.

We were being hunted.

I inquired, "How many people will be there?"

Hayes grinned malevolently. "Fifty. Perhaps more. Additionally, they all anticipate Elena showing up to try to stop them.

Elena's silver eyes glowed as she gazed at me. "They've made this into a war, Sarah."

At that point, a text message from an unidentified number buzzed through my phone: "Detective Chen, we know you're with the entity posing as Elena. We'll start killing innocent people if you don't come to Colorado. Until you get there, one every hour. The clock has begun to tick.

Haye

s burst out laughing. "It's too late. The trap has already been set.

Silver light started to shine on Elena's hand. "Then we give them exactly what they desire.”