Shameless AF: Dad of the Damn Multiverse

Chapter 46: "Officer Eddie"

As Frank dragged John away, the sound of sirens echoed in the distance.

"I'll let you off today," muttered Officer Eddie. Clutching his wound, he limped away from the scene.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," Frank said urgently, supporting the blood-soaked John.

"No... I can't go to the hospital," John refused weakly.

Seeing John insist, Frank had no choice but to bring him back to his house.

"What the hell happened?" Fiona asked in shock. Her girls' night had just ended, and she was startled to see Frank dragging in someone covered in blood.

"Call an ambulance!" Fiona grabbed her phone.

"Don't!" John's bloody hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

No matter how badly he was hurt, John absolutely refused to go to the hospital. He insisted on treating the wound himself.

Seeing how stubborn he was, Frank and Fiona quickly called Veronica for help. She wasn't a doctor, but she was a nurse—experienced from working in a retirement home and better than most doctors at treating everyday injuries.

Whenever anyone in the house got sick, it was always Veronica they turned to.

"Fortunately, no vital organs were hit. The wound on his abdomen looks bad, but it's mostly blood loss. It's more frightening than fatal," Veronica said as she cleaned the wound with alcohol, picked out wooden splinters with tweezers, and stitched it closed.

John lay in the bathtub, pale and unconscious from blood loss and a small dose of morphine. By the time the wound was stitched, he had already passed out.

After cleaning him up and removing his bloodied clothes, they carefully carried John into Frank's bedroom.

It was late, so once everything was settled, Fiona rounded up the kids and sent them all to bed.

When she was finally alone with Frank, she confronted him.

"Alright, what the hell happened?"

"I… I'm not entirely sure. It's complicated," Frank replied, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking visibly shaken.

Everything that had just happened felt unreal. Why had Officer Eddie suddenly tried to kill him? Was it just because of what happened at the Purity Ball? That didn't make sense.

And even more bizarre—Eddie had been shot. Through the neck. Yet somehow, he was still alive. Who'd believe that? There was no way he could tell Fiona the truth.

"I don't care who he is or what you're involved in," Fiona said seriously, her tone cold, almost threatening. "Just don't drag the kids into it."

Anyone who refused to go to the hospital with injuries like that was clearly hiding something. Probably a fugitive. A normal family would've called the cops the second they saw someone like him.

But this was the South Side of Chicago. Gangs, cons, and theft were part of daily life. So yes, they could treat John. They could even shelter him.

But if the children got involved—that was a different story.

"I understand," Frank nodded solemnly.

Neither of them noticed that when John's bloodstained jacket was removed, a small notebook fell out. Carl picked it up.

Lying under his blanket, flashlight in hand, Carl flipped it open with wide eyes. The pages were filled with entries about all kinds of myths and monsters—vampires, werewolves, banshees, vengeful spirits, demons…

His eyes sparkled with fascination.

---

While John was being treated back at the house, the real Officer Eddie was in a very different situation—chained up inside an abandoned factory, blood crusting on his forehead.

A closer look would reveal a chilling detail:

The man chained up was the real Officer Eddie.

Across from him stood someone identical.

"Who the hell are you? What the hell are you!?" the real Eddie shouted at the doppelgänger.

"I'm no one. I can be anyone. Right now, I'm you. I'm Eddie. Eddie Jackson," the imposter said casually.

Sitting on the ground, the fake 'Eddie' gripped a silver dagger embedded in his thigh and yanked it out. Blood poured freely. Unlike before, the wound didn't heal instantly.

Just as John had said—silver could hurt it.

Grunting in pain, 'Eddie' leaned against the wall and stripped off his clothes.

Then came the sound of bones grinding beneath his skin—visible even from the surface. His skeleton shifted unnaturally, pushing against his flesh in grotesque ways.

Teeth fell from his mouth. He reached up, grabbed a chunk of skin, and tore it off. The shed flesh dissolved into a thick, vomit-like sludge.

When the transformation was over, the imposter stood there, drenched in slime, as if stepping out of a swamp. The silver-inflicted wound on his thigh? Completely healed.

"Y-you're a demon!" the real Eddie stammered in horror. His worldview shattered before his eyes.

"Phew… much better," the doppelgänger said, wiping off the goo with a towel. He grabbed a bag of food and devoured it hungrily—the transformation had drained him.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why did you kidnap me and take my place? Has God abandoned me?" Eddie asked in a trembling voice, slowly regaining his composure.

"I'm no demon. And you've got it wrong—it wasn't me who came for you. You attracted me. I chose you," said the creature, now fully assuming Eddie's identity.

"I could sense your rage. Your disappointment in life. Your resentment toward your wife—Sheila, right? The one who's a little too into her toys. And your daughter… You never really accepted her, did you? You dreamed of raising a chaste, saintly girl—someone like the Virgin Mary. But instead, you see her as a slut."

"You see both Sheila and Karen as whores. God's punishment. Yet you endure it, not out of love, but because you believe it's your cross to bear," the creature said with a faint smile.

"No! That's not true!" Eddie snapped.

"Don't lie to me. Don't lie to yourself. I inherit every memory of those I become. I know everything about you—even the truths you refuse to admit."

"But of course," he added with a chuckle, "the one you hate most isn't them. It's Frank, isn't it?"

"Frank—he's a parasite, living off your family. And not just him—his son too. Lip. One slept with your wife, the other with your daughter. You blame them for the ruin your family's become. You're hated by your wife and daughter, forced to live in a basement… You can't even get a hot meal."