“There is a proverb…that claims that eating whets the appetite; this proverb, coarse though it may be, nonetheless has a very broad meaning: that by dint of committing atrocities one desires fresh ones, and the more one commits, the more one desires.”
-The Marquis De Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom
Will reached into his holster, dodging a blow. He fumbled around and pulled out his weapon. The gun felt heavy in Will’s hand. He’d held one in training of course, but now he was out on the field for the first time. This was life or death. A student, he never thought that he would end up a target, a potential victim. He was in over his head already and another guy was getting out of the van. He should have never taken on this case. Crawford had recommended him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was a Tuesday afternoon when the ram was pulled from class. He had received a summons from Crawford. Will was surprised when the bison asked him to help solve a recent string of disappearances. Eleven animals had gone missing thus far: the first was a squirrel, then a young deer, a mouse, a frog, three bunnies, a cow, two horses, and just yesterday, a zebra. Nothing connected the victims. The disappearances occurred in what seemed to be random states. At first the FBI weren’t notified. Animals go missing, children run away from home. It’s not out of the ordinary. Usually the local police would handle it. And they did, up until Jack Crawford noticed something odd about the disappearances while he was watching the news. There were only two connections the bison, Jack Crawford, could see. Jack wanted a promising young student called Will Graham to investigate further. He had been keeping track of this individual for some time without Will’s notice. But before letting Will on the case, he made sure that the lamb could see the two connections as he could.
He called for Will to meet him in his office. Will sat in the chair across from him, anxious, but ready to further his career. The bison gave the eager lamb the case file. Will opened it and looked it over. After a few minutes Crawford asked Will if he could see any connections between the disappearances.
“Well,” the ram began, “all I could find is this,” he said holding his hand out for the file again and opening it to a map with red dots pinpointing the locations where the animals went missing. “See, all these states are either border states or near border states. That’s about it”
“You missed something.”
“Yeah?” Will’s ears perked up, curious.
“All the victims were prey animals.”
Will just stared for a moment. “…Sorry, sir, but shouldn’t we just assume that if they disappeared in Land of Prey, and it falls under the Prey FBI…that the victims were prey animals?”
Jack Crawford sat up straighter in his chair. He loved this line. “Will, when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me both.”
Will had heard the quote before. He knew from his professors at Quantico that Crawford never missed the chance to say it. He felt embarrassed that he had slipped up in his observations, that he had given the bison the opportunity.
“But sir, there couldn’t be predator animals in Land of Prey, the treaty, the-“
“Criminals don’t give a shit about treaties, Will. But I do agree that it’s highly unlikely. The culprit probably wants us to think he’s a prey animal, take suspicion off himself. Hence the border states. I want you to go and investigate the locations where they disappeared Will. See if you can find something my men missed. I’ve heard good things about you, that you see things differently than the peers in your class. They say you have the power to put yourself in the shoes of the criminals Will. They say you’re a very perceptive lamb.” Crawford stood up to show Will out.
Before Will was fully out the door he said, in a small voice, “It’s not true, what they say, it’s not. I don’t have any sort of great power sir,” Will’s ears dropped, “I think you may be expecting more from me than I can give you.”
“We’ll see Will. Now run along, I want you at the first site at eight am tomorrow, you hear?”
“Yes sir. I’ll help however I can” he said as he made his way back to his dorm to pack.
Will knew that his professors thought he could understand the criminals, but honestly Will could understand anyone. Everyone has empathy; Will just thought maybe he had a little more than most. It wasn’t something he thought should make him any more qualified to work on this case. And he honestly didn’t really want people to know about the empathy. He hated it. He didn’t like knowing what was inside the mind of a monster.
The ram packed quickly and called it a night.
Finnian Siog 