TOKYO
WARD 17
Someone or rather something was coming.
By the sound of its movement and the noise it generated, it was likely a patrol unit vehicle.
Apart from the distant siren, Seth could hear birds chirping on tree 2 blocks ahead, the nervous jitters of his assailant's partner/scout and the complete lack of life in this neighborhood.
The block was dead, so was anything in 50m radius. He did not hear any carefree laughter, quick everyday small talk between neighbors, complaining elders or children playing.
All life was sucked away, hunted and devoured, consumed without end. He could smell dried up blood stains on the alley walls, washed up scent of despair and fear.
This was no place for humans to live and thrive, this seemed more like hunting grounds and the prey were humans. The guy chewing on his leg leisurely was enough proof of all his theories and hypothesis.
siren sounds🚨🚑🚨🚨🚨
"ahh these cockroaches... they come just at the best time, don't they" red sighed.
He was planning to finish his meal, lick his fingers and then take a few pieces to his buddy but the damn cockroaches have spoiled all his plans.
Dragging this meal while running away was not something he even considered seeing how most of it was still embedded in the road.
"tuh.. tactical retreat it is" spitting out a morsel, red started signaling is partner while backing away into an alley.
....
A frail looking young man with pale skin and dark circles under his eyes had just left the C.C.G.(commission of counter ghoul) station. He was cradling a cup of black coffee in his hands and a pack of cigs snugged tightly in his pants back pocket.
Enjoying the warmth of coffee, savoring it's aroma had become a luxury for Saito ken these past few days.
Working for the government in any capacity was expected to be hard and demanding even arduous in some cases. Long shifts, bureaucratic process that spanned entire generations, the machine that refused to turn in your service without the oil of bribes and gifts. In short a living hell, a boss level fight that was impossible to clear without certain cheats and perks.
All of this paled in comparison to working under the C.C.G. for Saito.
12 hour shifts, bossy superiors with egos inverse proportion to their dicks, bitchy coworkers and a toxic work environment were a distant dream for Saito.
Sure the job sucked and was a living hell for anybody who loved work life balance but there was no non-zero chance that they would get sliced into cubes, burned down or eaten alive by a monster that devoured humans.
"Ah! So bitter!"
Life working for the C.C.G. and this coffee, both of which Saito was getting used to, slowly but regrettably.
He stared into the distance, dozing off, and then slapped himself in the face to wake up.
"Tsk. This is what I get for almost dying everyday. What a rip-off. "
Even as a rank 2 investigator, he had to go for daily patrols around the wards. Most outsiders believed that the high mortality rate of ccg investigators was due to direct confrontations with ghoul packs and high ranking ghoul but the bitter truth was that most deaths happened on patrols of the wards were the investigators could be ambushed or if they were even more unlucky encounter an high ranking unrecorded ghoul.
He had heard there was something going on in ward 20, the ccg had dispatched a rank 1 investigator with a senior investigator which was rare for low level ward.
Something was about to happen and it did not play in his favor. His senpai had told him to be extra careful for the next few rounds even in the safer wards, which did not inspire some much needed confidence in him.
He had heard some talk about a vacuum in power formed due to disappearance of high ranking ghoul and the more concerning news about some new information on the most wanted ghoul by the higher ups of the ccg and the government for three decades, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of investigators and failure of many operations the OWL.
"Ahhh!...bad thoughts out, good thoughts in.. breath Saito breath."
Apart from paranoia and underhanging dark circles, as a monthly bonus the job also gave him jitters and unannounced anxiety.
Not wanting to stay a second longer than needed on the job he threw the cup in the dustbin, completed his breathing exercise and hoped into the jeep.
'click'🧨 " fuuh.. at least this thing still works." lighting a cig he opened his patrol schedule for the week. Scrolling down he found it.
"Ah!. this is good.. finally a low level ward, seems my luck is turning up, I'll buy a lotto ticket on my way back home this time, I'll win and settle in some far away place with fresh food and healthy lifestyle like that place Vinland. I'm never working again hehe."
Unknown to his fate like most while humming a tune, setting destination on his maps app he typed WARD 17.