Chapter 1: The Beginning

  August the 16th, 1985... This is a story about a man who's life is about to change forever. It was a cloudy afternoon in the streets of London, where our protagonist, Shannon Sommerset, with his wife, Jillian were about to start a new life together. Walking from a romantic day with each other, they sat on a bench, laughing and talking about their day. While reminiscing, something caught Shannon's eye... It was a small bakery across the empty street. 

"Stay here, I'll go get us something to eat, okay?" Said Shannon 

"Oh, sure thing, love" Jillian replied with a smile on her face.

          

  As Shannon went inside the bakery, he notices that no one is attending to the shop. He approaches the counter and rings the bell to see if anyone would respond, but there was no answer. Shannon rang the bell a second time and yet, not a voice to be heard. 

"Anyone home?!" Shannon shouted... "Well, I guess nobody's home" he added

   So instead, he took two of Jillian's favorite pastry from a basket, left his payment on the counter and went outside.

Excited, Shannon hurriedly left the bakery and said, "Oh, Jill! I got something that I'm sure you'll love"

   As he turned to the bench where his wife was sitting, and the smile from his face disappeared, his excitement turned to shock, and his happiness turned to sorrow. Shannon stared at the blood splattered around, the body of his decapitated wife lying on the street. Overwhelmed with sadness, he fell on his knees... A tear fell down from his eye as it began to rain. Later on, the authorities arrived to investigate the crime scene. 

An officer approached Shannon for questioning and asked "What is your name, sir?" 

Quickly, he answered "Shannon Sommerset" 

The officer continued, "Did you witness the crime?"

"No I didn't..." Said Shannon in a disturbed tone 

"So where were you during the event of the murder then?" Asked the officer suspiciously 

"I was at the bakery, buying us a snack" said Shannon 

"Okay then..." said the officer while writing the conversation on his tickler "So how are you related to the victim?" the officer continued

 Shannon paused momentarily, trying to hold back a tear and said, "She- she...was my wife" 

The officer looked at him..."Sorry for your loss, mate... I really am" Said the officer, patting Shannon's shoulder 

He thanked Shannon and walked away, leaving Shannon with the haunting sight of his dead wife

Suddenly, another officer shouted, "Oi! We've found another one!" 

  The team and a curious Shannon followed him. It lead to yet another dead body... 

The chief of the team ordered one of his men "Jenkins, could you identify the body?" he asked

  After Jenkins approached the body, he immediately identified the body..."Sir, this is the owner of the bakery..." he said

Shannon added "So that's why no one's attending to the shop!"... 

"Exactly" The chief said "It is the same kind of murder that happened to other parts of the world" 

"Sir! I don't think we should give this information to a civilian" another officer interrupts

"Keep your socks on, lad! We can trust him" said the chief

Without hesitation, Shannon asked, "Sir, what do you mean?" 

"Mass murders, lad..." the chief answered "Most body counts are on Alaska, Russia and including London. We've been searching for it for years." he added

"Wait..." Shannon interrupted "Years? How many?" he asked.

"It has been going on for 4 years" said the chief

"WHAT?! So why didn't the public knew about this?" Shannon asked angrily

 "Under government request, we've been assigned to solve this case and keep it secret...for now. These crimes happened faster than we expected and the only solid evidence we found proves that what we're after, isn't human" said the chief

"What evidence?" Shannon asked

"We saw a wound from one of the victims at Alaska, it didn't match any possible murder weapon, it looked like the victim got clawed or something" the chief answered

"Well whatever this bloody thing is, it has to be stopped!" said Shannon and not too soon, he also said "I want to be part of the investigation" 

  

The chief approached him with a blank expression "Are you sure you're up to this, lad?" he asked 

And with confidence, Shannon answered "I am, I wanna know who or what did this to my wife. I'll dedicate my life to put a stop to this madness"... 

"Well then... welcome to the International Organization of Specialized Operatives or I.O.S.O. if you will. We have solved the most improbable cases around the world since 1876" said the chief "London is just one of the many branches" he added

  So Shannon offered the chief with a hand as he said, "An honor to be part of the team Mr-" ... 

"Hinderson" the chief interrupted "Chief Benjamin Hinderson. An honor to have you Mr. Sommerset, or should I say, Private Inspector Sommerset" added the chief with a grin

"Thank you" said Shannon "So...when do I start?" he asked 

"You start tomorrow, 8am. Here...take this" said the chief as he hands over the address "Now go. You've had one hell of a day, lad. You better get some rest" 

Shannon nodded and went his own way without a word, while the team gathers. Jenkins approaches Hinderson "Sir, are you sure that he's qualified for this?" he asked

Hinderson chuckled and said "No need to worry, Reggie. I've seen good in him" ... "He might even close this case! Now come on, lad. Let's go home" said Hinderson as he gets in to his car...