Chapter 2 | HAPPY

The bullet flew toward the feminine creature, who sliced it in half with a swing of her sword, before collapsing to the ground.

Still in shock, I finally opened the cloth in which the baby was wrapped… What I saw was a horror beyond words. I immediately closed the cloth again and dug a hole to bury it. After doing so, I knelt down and said a prayer:

— May God have mercy on their soul…

I didn’t know if the man I used to be believed in God. But if not, then in that moment, I became a believer.

I headed back toward the hill. When I arrived at the house, the flames had gone out. I went inside. Everything had burned.

My eyes landed on a table. On it, an envelope. I approached it, opened it, and inside… a letter.

> “Dear Eden,

I hope everything is well on your end.

I’m expecting a child, an heir, and I wanted to surprise you.

Since you know his father so well, I wanted your opinion on the name.

Personally, I’d like to call him Kim, in honor of my father.

Thank you, and take care of yourself.

— Anita”

The man I was became deeply troubled. Even more questions than usual filled my mind.

I walked out of the house… and came face to face with the feminine creature again. She looked me straight in the eyes and said:

— Eden…

That name again… Could it really be mine? I asked her if she could understand me. She nodded:

— Yes.

I then asked her name, if she remembered it. She replied:

— Alya.

I stepped closer, grabbed her shoulders, and asked several questions all at once. But she couldn’t tell me anything more...

Still, I thanked her for saving me from the Calamity.

From that day on, we fought side by side, united by the same goal: to bring Alya back to her normal self.

Battle after battle, we made a name for ourselves: the Calamity Hunters. Or sometimes even: Doctors, because we healed whenever needed.

One day, while wandering in search of a town called Happy, hoping to resolve a Calamity issue there, we came upon a sign.

> Welcome to HAPPY!

Eden and Alya, smiling, followed the road leading into town.

Before they even reached the first houses, a man came to greet them:

— Greetings, travelers. Eden, Alya… We’ve been expecting you. We’re the ones who sent you the letter. The Calamity you’ve heard about… it’s here, in the town of Happy.

Eden stepped down from the cart, shook the man’s hand, and asked:

— Can we get more details on the situation?

The man suggested heading to his quarters, since “the hour of the Calamity” was approaching.

On the way, Eden observed the surroundings: the town seemed almost deserted. Once inside the sheriff’s home, he explained that a Calamity had been wreaking havoc for some time.

— What kind of Calamity? Eden asked.

The sheriff, visibly frightened, replied:

— A Calamity you never forget… It has forked teeth, claws as long as swords… a real demon.

With no more details, Eden asked:

— Can I see the death records, testimonies, and talk to the residents?

The sheriff began to search through a great mess.

Eden and Alya stepped outside.

— We’ll go to the quarters he gave us. If he finds the documents, he can send them to us, I told the sheriff.

— No problem, he replied.

We headed to the house nearest to the sheriff’s place, hoping to gather some information.

When we arrived, I knocked on the door, seeing light inside.

— Hi! Can we come in? We’re Calamity Hunters. Just wanted to ask a few questions, said Eden.

— No way! It’s almost time for the Calamity hunt! And you want us to open up? So we can be next? Never! I’d rather die!

Eden calmly responded:

— Whether you open the door or not… you’ll die someday anyway.

He then muttered:

— Oops…

The voice inside resumed:

— You want us to open? Come back after the Calamity’s made its choice! Only then!

Annoyed, Eden stomped on the porch floor.

— Is the Calamity really that scary?

— I’ve never seen it, but the others have… and that’s enough to freak me out!

— Alright. I’ll come back later then, said Eden, walking away.

And with a smirk: — When you do see it… say hi from me.

With Alya, we went to the house the sheriff had provided for us.

Seeing the apartment, Eden said:

— Nice place. A big change from the old stable. Just the smell gives me chills...

We went to wash up right away. Alya did the same.

Upon entering his room, Eden saw the registers he had asked for earlier. He flipped through the pages.

— I see, I see... he said seriously.

Alya watched him silently. He added:

— That’s what serious people do, right? Pretend they understand...

She got up to head to her room, but tripped at the top of the stairs. Eden caught her mid-fall.

Their eyes met for a moment. Then he gently set her upright, and she left without saying a word.

Eden returned to his room.

In his sleep, a voice called out once again:

> Remember me.

He woke up with a jolt.

Downstairs, someone was knocking on the door.

— Sir, sir Hunter!

I quickly got ready and opened the door. A breathless woman said:

— Sir… the Calamity struck again. A body’s been found.

I grabbed my gear and went. It was the house I had visited earlier.

But the sheriff told me the chapel had already taken the body. The nuns there had a strange look in their eyes.

So I went to the chapel. Inside, a large room filled with worshippers, nuns, all praying.

At the center, the head nun, kneeling before a white sheet stained with blood.

I knelt beside them and prayed too.

Once the prayer ended, the nun asked me:

— Are you a believer?

I replied:

— Just by existing… we all end up believing, one day, that something greater than us exists.

She smiled.

— God never forgets a child who thinks of Him.

I politely asked:

— May I see the body?

— It’s normally forbidden… but just this once, Eden, I’ll make an exception.

After viewing the body, the nuns proceeded to cremate it. I asked if it was their first victim.

She replied that many who died eventually became chapel followers.

I learned that the town’s farmer had also been attacked: his cows had vanished.

I headed to his place. The farmer explained he had a conflict with the former sheriff, who now lived in isolation… and oddly enough, hadn’t been present when the body was discovered.

Exhausted, I returned home and reviewed the residents' registry and the town map.

Soon after, another body was found… and Alya had disappeared.

The body belonged to the farmer. At the scene, the sheriff told me it was the head nun’s assistant who had found the body.

He also confided his suspicions: he believed the head nun was the Calamity.

She was never seen before the killings, and always had the bodies cremated “for the salvation of their souls.”

He had even ordered her assistant never to take her eyes off her… and each time she did, another murder happened.

So I decided to investigate myself.

The bodies… always unrecognizable.

I then asked the sheriff to gather everyone who had been absent or alone at the time of the massacres.

In one room stood: the head nun, the former village chief, a man who tried to flee the town, and… the current chief, whom I had added to the list myself.

He seemed offended, thinking I didn’t trust him. Yet he had told me everything.

I questioned them one by one: where were you at the time of the murder?

— At the chapel, praying and cremating bodies, said the nun.

— In my quarters, looking for clues, said the chief.

— At home, away from the village, said the former chief.

— At his place too, the chief confirmed.

As for the fugitive… he looked nervous, panicked. I repeated the question.

Then he screamed:

— It was me! I killed them! All of them! And I’ll keep going! Until I get you all!

The men surrounded him and locked him in the prison.

Later, the head nun approached me:

— If there’s anything I can do… know that my chapel will always be open to you.