Xander vol.1 Transmutation by Jaz Johnson Page B

your new secret ingredient?” Jared laughed again, this
time a little more whole heartedly.
    “ If it is, we’re
definitely removing it.”
    The footage then came back
to the real-time shot of the reporter, who lagged slightly before
speaking again.
    “ The lioness fled the
scene when animal control came onto the property, and was lost when
entering the thick of the woods just outside of town. It has yet to
be captured, and an advisory is currently in effect until the
lioness is found.” The reporter nodded. “This is Stanley Green,
reporting for channel 17, eye-witness news. Back to you,
Mike.”
    Back in the living room,
Loni’s face captured her astonishment and slight appall. She’s
nearly dropped what was left of the cake she had taken from the
café. She glanced back at Xander, whose face held both annoyance
and disappointment. Her hand slowly lowered the pastry onto the
back of the sofa.
    “ Oh,” she
mumbled.

Chapter 12

    “ Professor, can you tell
me what happened here?” came the accent-coated voice of Officer
Glover.
    He and Officer Roland had
been called in to investigate a crime scene. One that had happened
at Clemming Community College just a few hours prior. The
Professor, Professor Hughes, was still pretty shaken up. He had
come in to the lab to find two of his colleagues dead, and almost
all of the equipment being stolen. For whatever reason, his life
was spared, and he was left to report the tragedy to the
police.
    “ They took it all …” the
Professor stammered. He looked over at the two covered bodies of
his young female colleagues, his face twisting into that of
despair. “She killed them. Christ, Cynthia has children,” he wept.
Glover gripped his shoulder, trying to steady the man and keep him
focused.
    “ Focus, professor. This is
how you can help them now,” Glover offered. “A woman did
this?”
    Hughes shook his head,
recalling the events that happened only a few hours ago.
    “ Not alone. She had
Cynthia’s neck in her hand when I walked in. I caught the end of it
… I watched Cynthia’s body fall to the floor beside
Paula’s.”
    “ Did she take the
equipment? Who was with her?”
    “ I didn’t see the men that
moved the equipment. But I heard them speak to her on an intercom.
She answered them, walked up to me, winked, and left.”
    “ What did she look like?”
Glover asked, taking out his small notepad and pen.
    “ Tall, long black hair.
She had fair skin, and blue eyes.”
    “ How old would you say she
was?”
    Hughes shook his
head.
    “ She didn’t look a day
over twenty.”
    Glover nodded with some
hesitation. Someone so young being able to pull something like this
off. Was it possible? He patted Hughes’ shoulder, giving his best
look of compassion.
    “ Thank you, Professor.
Please, go home and be with your family.”
    The Professor nodded,
shakily pushing up his thinly framed glasses. He thanked Glover
before walking away towards the lab’s exit, taking a last look at
his colleagues before leaving with his head low. Glover sighed as
he stuck his notepad into his back pocket, while making his way
over to his partner, who was kneeling beside the bodies.
    “ Got anything we could
use?” asked Roland.
    Glover crossed his arms,
giving a shrug.
    “ He gave me a decent
description. We’ll have to call him in for further questioning.
He’s still pretty shaken.”
    “ Yeah, well I don’t blame
the guy. Get this. Cause of death?” Roland said, unzipping the body
back he was knelt in front of to reveal Cynthia Brown.
    Her once firm, mocha skin
was now pale and wrinkled, riddled with moles and imperfections.
Her once raven black hair was now grey, and slightly curling around
her aged face. Her skin sagged, and her body looked frail. On her
lab coat, her ID badge was clipped onto her left breast pocket. Her
photo captured her in her youth, which was only hours ago. Her skin
firm and glowing, her smile and eyes bright and inviting. Roland
looked up at