MADDIE ACT 3: THE NIGHT SLASHER

"Our brains are on fire with the feeling to kill

And it won't go away 'till our dreams are fulfilled

-Metallica, Seek and Destroy

ANGER AND SORROW

CIRCA 2008

It was a few minutes past 6 o'clock. Detective Rusty Briggs took a deep breath as he starred at the bloody hand print on the door. He held his gun tight as he was about to open the door to the roof. On the other side was someone extremely dangerous, someone who could kill him in an instant. It was his last day being a detective and this would be his last case. Like many things in his life, he had to see it through to the end. He slowly opened the door, not knowing how it would all end.

Det. Rusty Briggs sat at his desk reading the news on his tablet. He was in his early sixties with short gray and white hair, had a biker's mustache with a stubble beard to go along with his tired eyes. He would soon be retiring and was not at all thrilled. This job was the only thing that kept him going, the only purpose he had in an empty life. But soon it would be all over even though there were many unsolved cases including missing persons and homicides. In his mind, they would only get worse. He swiped through the pages, hoping to find good news. He came across articles featuring, egotistical celebrities, overpaid teen pop stars, which lives mattered the most, and articles trying to increase the hatred of cops. He finally found one: A young man helped raise money to pay for a young woman's heart operation. It angered him that he had to flip through many pages just to find this short article of good news. But it was good news. He put the tablet down and decided to go through the case files. He looked through the only one that mattered to him, the one that he had been obsessive with for over for eight years. He looked at a picture of Madeline Brennan, who he suspected of committing multiple murders a few years earlier. He stared at her picture and as always, saw resemblance between her and his daughter, Clara. The only difference between their appearance was Maddie had blonde hair and Clara had brown hair. Rusty had been haunted by Clara's death due to a drug overdose three years earlier. The ones who supplied her with drugs were never apprehended. He never believed Clara was solely responsible and always believed it was the bad influence of the acquaintances she had been with. As Rusty starred at her picture, the more Clara began to appear in his mind.

Det. Ken Elliot sat down at his desk and began typing on his computer. He was a young man with a short fade and a clean-shaven face. He was tall and in excellent shape. A lot of the other officers and detectives looked up to Det. Briggs but no one was more enthusiastic than Det. Elliot. He loved solving cases with Det. Briggs and was looking to solve one more case with him before his retirement. He looked over at him and walked over to his desk and sat down. Det. Briggs glanced up at him.

"Why are you so glum?" Det. Elliot asked. "I would be excited and dancing on my desk if it was me retiring."

"I don't know; I guess everyone celebrates differently."

"Man, you're not even celebrating. I say we go get some lunch. You in?"

"As long as we're not going to that Mexican place."

"I was thinking about Quinn's. No spicy shit there."

Det. Elliot was driving Det. Briggs down the street. He knew all about Det. Briggs daughter and had always done everything to help him find those responsible. He wanted to tell him to stop looking at the picture of Madeline. He wanted to tell him a lot of things but he could never do it. Det. Elliot had a wife and young son whom he was proud of. His wife owned a small business and his son wanted to be a detective just like him. A family was something Det. Briggs no longer had. Sadly, he lost his wife of 30 years to a stroke last year. Her death only brought more misery into his life, which made retirement a pain instead of a joyous occasion.

"I'd hate to run into that girl you've been looking at," Det. Elliot said, "You retiring and that girl being extremely dangerous."

"So what? I'm not worried at all. We find her we bring her in."

"You make it sound so simple. She's like a damn ninja or something. Runs across the rooftops, disappears like it's a magic act. Your old ass ain't gonna catch her."

"Heh. No, but my bullet will."

They drove past a group of protesters who were accusing the cops of being killers. They held up pictures and signs of the people who were gunned down by police for being criminals.

"Look at all this," Det. Elliot said. "You're telling me you're gonna shoot a teen girl. It's doesn't matter if she's armed or not."

"It won't matter to the liberal media," Det. Briggs replied, "She's white."

Det. Elliot laughed as they drove down the road.

Deep underground inside a doomsday bunker, Madeline "Maddie" Brennan held residence. She decided to spend more time in the bunker instead of with Ellie, who hadn't noticed she'd been gone. Maddie had sealed off the entrance in the basement, so the new residents of the house could not access it. She used the other entrance which led into the woods. Maddie was staring into a mirror with an evil stare. She had medium length blond hair, blue eyes, and was a beautiful teenaged girl. She was in incredible shape and was an exceptional fighter, especially in the art of ninjutsu. She was also well trained in the art of parkour. Each of those skills she learned with the help of Tim when she was younger to combat the abuse and bullying she endured as a child. Over the years, she developed a form of bloodlust. Maddie made a vow that she would rid the world of bad people and spent most of her nights scouring the city for criminals. She was aware the police were after her, but in her mind, no one would catch her. The police did not recognize her without the paint. Maddie never made any friends over the years since she expressed a creepy vibe. She had a difficult time getting over Tim's death. She pleaded with him not to carry out an attack at Black Mesa. Each time she thought about him, a mix of anger and sorrow clouded her mind.

Shortly after the funeral, she learned that Tim left her a trust fund. She had enough money to live off for many years to come. Maddie began to apply her face paint. First, she smeared white on her and then smeared black over her eyes and spread it down her face from the corners of the eyes down to the cheek. Next, she smeared red paint on her lips, which she made into a smile. It almost resembled a psycho clown. She giggled. Then, she put her hair into pigtails. She stood up and headed out into the night. Her outfit consisted of a red and black leather corset with numerous pockets and knives, black stretch pants and a utility belt, and a pair of combat boots which contained knives. Tim had created the boots a month before he died. Sometimes her bloodlust would beckon and taunt her. She would head out during the evening or during the day.

Maddie stood by a fast food restaurant that had been closed for the night. During the day, this part of the neighborhood was calm and peaceful. When night came, the criminals would emerge. Maddie did not like to interact with anyone. Most of them knew of Maddie and were afraid of her. Her appearance did not stand out, due to the fact there were more like her. Maddie denied the fact that she was like them. She was there to rid the world of evil. She began walking around, hoping to hear of crimes across the city. A large man wearing a leather jacket, torn jeans, and combat boots stood in an alleyway and stared at her. She glanced at him and walked towards a skinny man with a shaved head. He was always near the police scanner. It was kept there to warn the other of police activity nearby. Maddie used it to listen for crimes. The skinny man offered a beer, but Maddie sneered at him and turned away. Then, the dispatcher told of a rapist on the loose. She listened to the description of the rapist and the location. Just like that, Maddie quickly climbed up the building and ran across the rooftops. Her running and jumping skills had vastly improved. After a few minutes, she finally reached the last know location of the rapist. She was in a bad neighborhood, but that did not matter to her. The cops would soon be around and she needed to find the culprit quick. She climbed down and walked along the dimly lit streets. Then, a large man walked behind her. She quickly turned around.

"Boo!" She yelled.

The large man saw her face paint and ran away. Maddie could sense someone's fear. The shaking, panting, heartbeat, and the look in the eyes were all she needed to sense fear. She looked around and saw a rundown apartment building. She climbed to the roof and laughed. The sound of evil laughter was described by people on the news. Maddie had become a notorious figure. Some loved her, others hated her. No one could give a valid description of her to the police other than a clown woman. The police had given her the nickname "Night Slasher." Then, the rapist, the one who fit the description, ran out of the darkness and down the street. Maddie followed him. Even though she was a distance away, she could sense his heavy breathing. She quickly moved in the darkness and closer to the rapist who ran behind an abandoned building. He thought he was safe, he was wrong. Maddie surprised him and dragged him to the ground. She struck him with an elbow and sat on top of him, pinning his arms with her legs. She laughed.

"You'll die for what you did," Maddie said.

"Get off me you bitch!" He shouted at her.

"I can feel your heart pounding. I love it."

She raised her knife in the air and the rapist screamed. Maddie loved the sound of someone screaming in terror. She felt satisfaction as the knife penetrated his skin. She dragged the dead body to the front of the abandoned store while holding the severed head of the rapist. She placed the body behind a broken-down car. She placed the head on the roof of the car while giggling. She watched the blood flow along the car; becoming hypnotic as the crimson liquid flowed.

Rusty Briggs laid awake in his bed. He rarely slept well, due to a combination of insomnia and depression. His alarm clock went off and he hit the alarm. He wanted to remain there and not get up. Soon, he would no longer have to get up when a machine told him to. Rusty kept his apartment in a clean, organized fashion out of respect for his wife. He kept pictures of his wife and daughter on the wall. As he was adjusting his tie, he looked at a picture of Clara. Then, a flash of Maddie's face appeared over it and quickly disappeared.

Det. Briggs and Det. Elliot were at the abandoned diner. Cop cars with flashing lights were all around and the area was taped off. Rusty did not even need to show his badge to the officers guarding the area. They knew and respected him. He walked closer to the diner and saw the gruesome site.

"What the hell happened?" Det. Briggs said.

He saw the decapitated head on the roof of the car with blood stains around it.

"Holy shit!" Det. Briggs said, "Who the hell would do something like this?"

"A sick asshole," Det. Elliot said.

Rusty looked at the rotting head. Rusty walked around the car and saw the headless corpse. He noticed a few stab wounds on the upper body. He walked behind the building, following the trail of blood. Captain Donnelly was there with a few officers. He was an Irish man with brown hair and was younger than Rusty by a few years.

"Briggs," he said, "There you are. You've seen what this sick son of a bitch did? Blood everywhere."

"Yeah, and none of it makes sense," Det. Briggs replied.

"It doesn't have to. We have a killer to deal with."

"The victim was stabbed and decapitated back here."

"How do you figure?"

"The trail of blood begins here. Whoever did this stabbed him first, sliced off the head and dragged him by the car. There are two patterns of blood. One for the body and one for the head."

"Wait, he was stabbed first? What for?"

"I noticed the stab wounds. Whoever did this wanted to torture him. He dragged the body…"

"She," the Captain interrupted, "It was a she."

"You mean the Night Slasher?"

"Right."

"Well, she dragged the body near the car, placed the head on the hood, and disappeared."

"Usually when somebody kills someone, they hide or leave the body. Why drag it into the open?"

"Who knows, just another lunatic."

Det. Briggs examined the area.

"Any witnesses?" He asked Captain Donnelly.

"Just a couple of hobos."

Det. Briggs was once again looking at the head. Det. Elliot came over.

"You want me to take a photo, just for you?" He said to him.

Det. Briggs noticed the uneven pattern on the neck. He poked it and tilted it back.

"What the hell are doing man?" Det. Elliot asked. "That shit is nasty."

Rusty saw an irregular cut pattern on the neck. Captain Donnelly came over as well.

"Unevenness," Det. Briggs said.

"Meaning?" Captain Donnelly asked.

"It was not done in one swift motion."

"Of course it was…who would…"

"She wanted to make him feel pain. She took her time with it and she enjoyed doing it."

"Well, it still doesn't make much sense as to why she put the head on the hood," Captain Donnelly remarked.

"The Night Slasher wanted to send a message to us," Det. Briggs said, "She wants to know that she is out there."

"I'm gonna check out that body again," Captain Donnelly said.

"Man, I wish I was retiring," Det. Elliot said.

"So, breakfast?" Rusty asked him.

Det. Elliot gave him a strange look as he covered the head with a blanket.