The beautiful yet breathtaking moon was high up in the sky, illuminating the world as it was already nighttime—in its full glory.
People by now probably had already been sleeping so peacefully at their house on their very own bed... And just awaiting the day to unveil... But here we are... In a very normal-looking alley... Someone was walking...
It's dark; the buildings around this very alley were blocking any source of light to peer into it... And the figure who was walking—although cannot be seen much—was wearing a mask of that smiling yellow emoji over their face...
"...I have to do it slowly; that training wasn't easy at all..."
Wearing his vigilante costume was none other than Jeff himself, walking down this very alley as he was doing his patrol for the second time as a vigilante! With his weapon strapped to his back, he walked in a calm stride...
"...It looks like I have to somehow split them into two sessions..."
A hand to his chin; with an expression that cannot be seen through the mask, but behind it a thoughtful expression was adorned on his face... Still walking forward as he thought to himself amidst all that.
I can do it before school and after school... Which meant I had to wake up around 5:00 AM for the morning session? Hm...
"...Well, I can do that, I guess. Just hoping that I don't forget to set the alarm for that."
.
...Ohhio, which was one of the states within the country of Omerica, the heart of the state itself: Ohhio City. If all the states are ranked, Ohhio will be somewhere in between. The life of living in Ohhio City... it wasn't that bad living here, but it also wasn't good. But still, people have to make up for what they're given.
The night was long for Ohhio City, or so they say; it's quiet yet peaceful—different from its daytime counterpart...
Ohhio City, which was the heart of everything in the state, was where the people who were living within the city itself were the rich folks, but for most people, who weren't all that rich and were less able or just straight up in poverty, well, they lived at the outskirts of it. There were some good places, and there were also bad places—Jeff was living somewhere in between those two.
*TAPTAPTAP*
Footsteps echoed, albeit rather tame, as Jeff, who was patrolling within an array of alleys, was still walking around doing what he came here to do. Looking around for any trouble or anyone needing help—since, after all, that's what vigilantes like Jeff do, although he was still new... He's racking up experience!
"Well, nothing so far..."
Hands to his waist as he also stopped on his track... Currently he was in an alley with a dead end of a tall wall; a medium-sized dumpster was in here, a stinky-smelling place—which he doesn't want to stay in any longer. With that, he moved away again...
Unlike the first time, the patrol for the second time had nothing that was worth stopping for in his line of sight; there was some place within the alleys that homeless people made their sleeping place, and that wasn't even wrong in the slightest...
It's probably been an hour since he started patrolling, still walking, as this time his destination was somewhere else in mind; bringing his hand to the left pocket of his pants, in which he took out something from within it, and it was his phone. Pressing the power button as he looked at the time, which showed 10:15 PM...
"It's been an hour... And nothing was happening... Well, that's good."
Putting the phone back to where it belongs and still in the midst of walking...
Turning left as he entered a slightly bigger alley, and at the end, where he was facing now, was none other than the exit that ended up at the main road; a pole light can be seen illuminating light over its surroundings...
.
"Finally out of the gutters! Mannn, some fresh air finally!"
Exiting the alley as he finally entered the main road, and now here he was currently at the pedestrian walk... The main road itself, although not where he was like back then, was indeed the same one! Judging by a sign that showed and indicated that it was the same one from yesterday!
Hands high in the sky as he exhaled and inhaled rather refreshingly, his eyes, which were closed during this time period, now peered open as he looked before him.
There were houses, although most of them lined the other side, and the houses on this side weren't all that much, but back then when he accompanied Sydney back to her house, both sides were lined with modern-looking houses and looked pretty well-off too...
"Meh, like I didn't know... Wait, I don't actually."
Thinking about it but then just shrugged it off straight up—right after, it's Ohhio after all. Now, with his sight in front of him, as he looked side to side, albeit slowly, it was quiet...
No cars passing by, no people walking around—now, only he was the one this time around... In the dead of this night.
"..."
Looking around him yet again, he spotted a bench just not far off... and walked toward it. Now in front of it, he then just motioned himself to sit comfortably.
*Sigh*
"Dang... My body is feeling sore... Well, no wonder about that."
He sighed and in the middle of it had his hand brought to his left shoulder, where he then massaged it as he also moved his shoulder in a circular motion, perhaps to loosen it. The training that he did just recently before this patrol pretty much made his body sore... Well, considering that Jeff wasn't someone that did much exercise.
"...I have to normalize this now, but c'mon when I think about it. This training... Can a human really do it?!"
She has to be joking...
Still massaging his shoulder as he lamented by himself, speaking out loud and even in his own thoughts. He just cannot believe it. She said this helped her? Does that mean she can do all of these crazy sets? Unbelievable.
After a certain time, his sore shoulder was feeling better now, albeit just a little, thanks to himself for massaging it vigorously. Pulling out his phone, he then looked for that one specific application.
"Well, I have to say something about this."
As he scrolled down on his phone, there he stopped right after as he tapped and opened the application. It was Deddit, tinkering within the app for a while as he finally opened a certain post. Well, it was the post with the video embedded, and the title showed how to train your physicality and mentality by Bunny.
Just like their recent post, this one too had an empty comment section but had 3 views instead?! Which probably from Jeff himself; all of it! How sad!
But, hold up! What was Jeff's purpose in coming back to this post? Well...
"Umm... Yep, this... And that... And boom, sending it."
In the comment section, there Jeff typed on his keypad... The message he was typing away... Well, it's not negative or anything, but it wasn't positive either; it will be somewhere in between those. He was just being honest.
"She has to be trolling; I don't think I can even reach 50 of any of those sets... Now I have to split it and somehow do it moderately."
The message was now in the midst of loading up to be sent, and not long after, it was there. The first comment!
"That look about right..."
Looking at his own comment that he had just hit and boom, sent to her post, it just had to be done, he thought.
Although it cannot be seen, just behind his mask, the corner of his mouth was raised as if smirking just a tad bit, feeling devious.
Putting his phone, at the same time, back to its original place. Done with all that, and finally—there he just rested on the bench... body exhausted and sore; it's been an hour that he's been patrolling after all, and now just resting for a bit doesn't sound bad.
Resting as he then gazed upward, looking in a certain direction—toward the moon. Well, who can help but do that? The moon itself was beautiful; its serene yet soft illumination was cast to the earth... It's calming.
"...I guess it's the end for today's patrol... I'm tired already..."
Still gazing toward the moon as he said those words to himself, It's the end for today's patrol... Not long had passed, and finally, Jeff stood upward from the bench and stretched his body for a bit to loosen up. Twisting this, that, and there all over his body... And finally...
"Alright, let's go..."
Just as he started walking, although it was faint… but it was something... He can hear it... A sound...
"...Huh? The hell? What was that sound?"
Coming not far off, but rather it was close. Just in front of him, from the alley that he had exited from... It was that sound that he heard, and the sound itself was... like a plea asking for help...
It's not clear; the sound was like it came from deep within the alleys... He can still hear it faintly... But not much... And guess what?
"...Hmmm... Well, it looks like it wasn't over for today."
The plan changed; he isn't going to his turf yet. Something just came up, and it's seriously vigilante-esque stuff coming right up. Mysterious sound from an alley? That was literally a call-up for vigilantes to check out!
Now walking toward the alley from which the sound was coming, he entered and started going toward the whereabouts of the sound itself.
In the midst of walking, he turned and entered an alley, which was on the left side of this bigger alley; the sound could now be heard, albeit a little clearly... Thought to be the sound of humans asking for help, it was instead the sound of an animal... Judging by the tone and pitch...
"It's an animal? Hmm... Alright, let's see what's up."
Questioning it for a bit, but that still doesn't change the fact he's still going to do something about it. Could this be your typical saving-an-animal-from-a-tree type of scenario? Well, it might be.
He entered yet again another alley, but he can't help but notice it... The alley just keeps getting worse... It was darker and even uncomfortable to be walked on...
But he's still going to check this out... And he can even hear it more... It was the sound of a cat... More of a kitten, or just somewhere in between—with a sweet jingling like a bell of a sound... He was closer to it than ever...
And finally...
"Man, it goes deeper than I thought... How the heck am I hearing the sound of a cat that originates all the way from here? Dayum..."
Exhausted? Well, he was kind of like that, a hand to a wall as he gathered his breath shortly and not that long as he then resumed walking. Now, he can hear it—like, really, really well. Since the cat was meowing so erratically! Probably scared since the alleys were dark, spooky, and you name it! Creepy! Poor cat.
.
Just in front of Jeff, an exit to another alley yet again—he faced it! But he didn't care about that! The sound was coming just outside of here... Moving toward the exit... And boom, he was out of that alley and into another one!
Looking at the direction where the sound was coming from and nothing much can be seen; it's dark... But when one looked closer... something was peeking out... A dumpster was on this very alley that stretches far away in front toward nobody knows where unless they go and explore it and probably just end up in another God-forsaken alley...
Just behind the dumpster, with something peeking out was a tail of an animal... The color of it was black, and it had a long tail... Kinda too long?
Jeff winced his eyelids to look at it more sharply; it was really a tail, and it was also moving... But was this really the one Jeff was looking for? Well, it is because of the sound that Jeff had been hearing... and the one that made him come all the way here... Confirmed itself.
"Meow..."
The cat meowed just behind the dumpster and that in turns had Jeff sighed in relief...
"Jeez, you really made me come here because you're scared... Alright, come out; I'm here already, catty."
Coming closer to the dumpster as he called out to the cat, but despite calling for it—he still can't see the cat, and still, only the tail is peeking out... He needed to get closer since even when called out, the cat still didn't want to do that...
.
The dumpster, which was now in front of him, was kind of big, and it also reached his shoulder level—pretty big dumpster, actually... And enough with that, now with himself before the dumpster... He called out to the cat again...
"Hey, come out already...?"
"Meow..."
And finally! The cat showed itself! An ear of a cat was peeking out! And then followed suit with its face emerging from behind the dumpster! With a friendly rub across the dumpster showing just how friendly it is! At the same time, the cat was looking at him with eyes of that pure darkness peering into Jeff... Wait... That ain't right.
"Wow, wow, wow, wow... what's up with your eyes?"
Backing away to the back as he keeps his field of vision in front because just who in the hell is not going to do that?
A normal cat? Hell nah...
The cat, or just the thing, fully emerged from behind the dumpster, with black fur adorning its body... And even its eyes were black... Eyes blacker than its fur... It was looking at Jeff...
And that wasn't all... This thing just can't stop becoming creepier because somehow it was also on the same eye level as Jeff; it's pretty much the same height as Jeff... Its size stays the same, but its legs? So freaking long...
As Jeff backed away, the thing also followed him and only stopped the moment Jeff also stopped... And there, both of them are looking at each other, with a radius of only 4 meters between them...
"Meow..."
The thing meowed as it looked at Jeff motionlessly with its eyes that looked so cursed... And Jeff just stared at it behind his mask... Sweating bricks at the same time.
Nervously as he spoke to himself or even toward the thing itself.
"Ha... haha… I must be dreaming, sleeping right now, because just what the f—"
Things just got out of hand; a normal patrol now turned into a not-so-normal patrol...
In an alley, both of them looking at each other forever in stalemate. Likely...