Clarice Starling strode confidentally down the wide , brightly lit , top floor hallways. Oh yes , this was much better than her basement shack...This was where the big boys and girls sat around and played. Played what , she asked her mind? Jacks. They play Jacks.
The sudden , rapid change of very odd subject startled Agent Starling for a moment and she cleared her throat slightly , reprimanding herself for being...herself. She straightened her suit's skirt in thought as she neared her doorway , and clenched the briefcase at her side before stopping outside of it. Starling fixed her hair and , hand on the door knob , bravely stepped where no sane woman had stepped before.
Right into the freakin' Lion's den.
The many agents seated around a large table raised their eyes to her , and Clarice looked away as she stepped in further and began to walk around the table to her seat. A few pairs of eyes watched , and Pearsall cleared his throat. Immediately , they looked away and he slid a folder towards Clarice as she sat down.
"Thank you for joining us , Starling. I thought it would be important enough for your time."
She nodded and took the folder into her hands. Pearsall rose from his chair and addressed the meeting in a loud , confident voice.
"Gentleman," He began , not even glancing at Clarice who shifted uncomfortably. "As you know , we have discovered a new series of murders in the New York City area. Presumably , you have all been called here due to the simularities , if you will , between these murders and the infamous killings of Hannibal Lecter."
A few agents bobbed their heads in agreement , and Clarice sighed to herself. Lecter. Always Lecter.
"If you will please open your folders , you will see the very first victims..."
Clarice tuned him out quickly. She began to rifle through the case file inside. It was basically filled with pictures , all of women and men mutilated in some horrible fashion. But , the strange thing was , they all had been recreated in a Lecter style. A copy cat.
She looked back to Pearsall , deeply intrigued.
"Every one was found with the same thing. The word 'Hannibal' carved somewhere , and a written stanza of Poe's 'The Raven'. Forenzics had repeatedly checked for finger prints and DNA...but sadly enough there was none to be found. We are afraid , gentleman , that this may become a real problem. This person is recreating Lecter's murders from the very beginning...there were too many to be known."
Clarice looked back to her file , and the tortured eyes of a young woman stared back at her. Her shoulders were both ripped apart , and the word 'Hannibal' was engraved into her forehead.
"Damn right." she muttered.
Hannibal Lecter himself stare over the papers spread before him. Oh , Lovely. He remarked bitterly , five different issues of various american papers all showed the new New York Murders. The killer was being dubbed "The Raven" by the headlines , and had killed 12 so far.
Doctor Lecter was most displeased by this information. 12 murders , all copy catting his , had occured and they never tied them together to a certain person? His faith in the american law enforcement , though never strong before , had weakened considerably and he folded up his papers.
Poor Clarice , he reasoned. They probably have put her on this case for fun. And only a few months since out special supper...Poor Clarice.
Hannibal stood from his kitchen table and lay the papers down in their folded stack , turning away to head in the direction of the study. Yes , it would be the appropriate time to contact his Clarice...
Calandra Knott strode down the side-walk , her small , evened strides sounding dully on the pavement as the others. The afternoon was coming to a close in the fridgid wintery air. She squinted against the western setting sun towards the shilloettes of many scy scrapers against the sky , and immediately noted the gap in the sky line that had been missing ever since September 11 : she quickly forgot.
Just outside of Queens , Calandra was confident in her strides of the familiarity of this area. She had lived on the other side of New York for her entire life , and had been here in Queens attending college for maybe three years now. Studying to become a language arts teacher , eventually proffessor , at 22 , Calandra considered herself well taught and in tune with the world around her. She even attended a film making class for extra , and in social status she had many friends and aquantiences. Life was good.
Calandra , tugging the strap of her book bag further up on her shoulder , flashed a flirtacious smile to a passing horde of college town boys. They gratefully responded , and she passed on , the spring in her step allowing her soft auburn hair to fly at it wished. She reached the gate of the park she had been cutting through , and broke away from the tranquility of shrubbery and leaveless trees to the city sidewalks once again. She rushed across the street , and towards the Metro on the other side.
She had arrived home without much difficulty. Her ride on the trains had been fairly pleasant , and now , in the safety of her own small home , Calandra was at ease. The daughter of two very wealthy parents , she had been honoured with her own house , and was grateful for it. Things were so much easier to do here.
She had just gotten in the door , and it was already dark outside.
Calandra shivered to herself and pulling her snowy gloves off of her hands , dumping her backpack by the door.
"Cold , cold , cold..." she muttered to the empty house , dancing around momentarily.
Calandra removed her coat and dumped it on the rack , stretching at the sudden loss of so much extra weight on her body. For her age , she was still rather thin , very attractive to the male population , and appeared to be one for fashion , style. But this was not to say she was obsessive , no , there were many very strange things to be said about Calandra. Those who would say them could not.
It was with some murmering , much cursing , and a few bouts of clumsiness , that She had managed to make it into the living room with a cup of coffee , sipping on it like a life source. Calandra gathered herself in front of the television and flipped it on , the flourescent glow giving her comfort in the lonely rooms.
Soap opera...romance...action...Horror...no , wait , turn back to that...okay , nevermind...
She vetoed all other choices then and turned to quite possibly the most boring channel possible ; CNN. Calandra remained standing in front of the television to watch , and was delighted to see that it displayed a picture of Hannibal Lecter.
"...Authorities believe that this is not the work of Doctor Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter , but rather of a fan.
They have concluded that the killer is not in fact eating the victims , as their 'missing appendengages' tend to show back up in a finding. Police in the Manhattan area have alerted all citizens , especially the young women , to keep aware as Doctor Lecter is extremely..."
Calandra cut the announcer off with a slow "Blah , Blah,Blah..." and then halted on thought.
"Oh! Yes! I completely forgot!" she suddenly looked worried , but not for the picture across her screen. Calandra turned this off quickly and began to rush about repeating her mantra of "Oh! Ooooh!"
Gathering up her things , Calandra turned to the basement door and opened it , beginning to descend the stairs into darkness.
As she stepped , though , the sound of heavy breathing began aparent , occasionally it would trip as if a choking.. Sobs.
"Shhh...." Calandra crooned softly to the blackness. Nothing was visible now , save for a small sliver of light creeping down the wooden stairs as if it had tried to reach out to the basement , but failed.
She held a small bag at her side , and as she descended further into the basement the sobs became louder , and she slowly began to pull on a pair of sanitary cloves.
"Quiet , please." Calandra instructed to the noise , and it began to die down just slightly , replaced by hiccups.
The room was suddenly illuminated in the dim light of only two lamps , and the sight was shocking ; very unexpected to be seen here , or anywhere for that matter.
Against the wall , was what could of passed as a dignified , young man. Now he was simply another broken victim , and appeared very frightened.
Brown hair tousselled , eyes red , tears worn out and the stains on his cheeks to prove it , the young man was , in simple , a wreck. Tethered to the wall by two four old pairs of hand cuffs , he had the traditional strip of duct tape over his mouth , halfway fallen off. Calandra appeared displeased.
"Oh , Brian." she scolded , as if a mother to a young child , and stepped forward to take her spidery hands to his face.
Instead of being comforted , "Brian" flinched away and she only smiled lightly , pulling the duct tape away from his mouth. He opened his mouth to say something , and Calandra stuck a finger to his lips.
"No , I did warn you. I will kill you much sooner if you even try to scream."
He stopped, and she smiled wider , fishing around in her bag , at first extracting a can opener.
"I brought you a present , Brian. I do hope you enjoy it , as I know that things own here are rather miserable for you." Calandra began fluidly , her voice light and movements swift as she turned and lay the can opener on a stand against the opposite wall. A few groaning noises were heard behind her , and then the scratchy sound of his unused voice as Brian finally spoke up , albeit quietly.
"Please , I've begged you...Let me go. What are you trying to do to me?" his voice was tearful , and Calandra slipped her eyelids over the hazel orbs as he continued. "I have been in here for days , with no light."
She sighed deeply , opening her eyes once more as she finally extracted a can and a fork from inside the bag at her side. The can read "Italian Green Beans"
"Brian , please be patient. You will be free soon enough , alright? Would you like to go much sooner?"
Calandra turned and walked gracefully back to him , can opened and a fork in her hand. He stare at her widely.
"Well?"
Brian nodded deftly after a brief moment of considering his options , and she smiled cheerfully.
"Good boy. Now , eat your supper and then we can talk , hmm?"
It was rather humorous , Calandra supposed , standing in her damp basement spoon feeding such a once handsome man green beans. But , irony was her forte. She raised the can , void of all except for the water the vegetables had been packaged in , and tipped it to his lips ; Brian drunk it in invitingly.
"No , no , no" she muttered , as water dribbled down his chin onto his already wet , with sweat , shirt.
Ca;andra pulled it away , and he composed himself , or as much that was allowed in handcuffs and chains.
"Now , to let you go , yes?"
"Yes." he answered immediately
"Alright...sure."
Calandra took his chin under her spidery hand for a moment , and smiled , dropping her hand away and sweeping back over to the table , to her bag.
"You know , others have been very , very worse off than yourself. They have suffered much worse torturers than being locked in my basement. What happenned to being a big boy , Brian?"
She turned to him , and he was clearly distraght to see not only the keys in her hand , but a small , short steak knife.
He wiggled violently as she approached him , and tried to jerk his body back from her touch as she pocketed the knife and advanced on him with the key.
"No...I'll stay...I'll stay here..."
"Brian," Calandra smiled , voice light as ever. "You know , and I know , that this is a painful torture. You can not stand this seclusion , it is very damaging to your psychological health. So I will cure."
She slowly uncuffed his feet first , and was glad that he had not tried to kick her , so she moved her attention to his hands. Once free , Brian immediately dived for his captor , knocking her backwards slightly.
Racing into the next room , Brian shot for the basement stairs but almost instantly he felt her hands on his back , and fell forward onto the stairs in front of him.
Calandra , positioned on his back and Brian face first into the staircase , was dissapointed to find that it did not render him unconcious.
"Pity..." she muttered , leaning close to his ear as he stopped struggling , breath heavy. "We could of had so much fun together."
So it was with great speed , and great fluidity , that the steak knive slid from the center of Brian's high neck , to his lower back , nerves and brain stem severed.
"There you go." she said , voice full of satisfaction as she rose from his body , and the last few strangled grunts echoed from his mouth. "God rest your soul."
And then he was gone , body lifeless and blood beginning to seep through the straight , clean cut.
"I must say , I am better at this than I give myself credit for." Calandra muttered to herself.
She leaned on the banister of the stairs , staring down at his body in thought for a moment , before sighing slightly.
"You know , It's terribly high cholesterol...But I wonder what a bit of meat would taste like. Just this once."
Calandra smirked lightly , and turned , side stepping Brian's dead body to retrieve a pot from upstairs.
A..N.- I FINALLY wrote a murder story! One that will eventually develop gore! Geez...I'm growing up! Tell me whatyou think , people , I know the beginning was rather poorly written but that was due to the fact that I had started writing it when I was rather sick , and now I finished in a good mood. Joy! And this chapter is finished! Tell me what you think!
-Raven
The sudden , rapid change of very odd subject startled Agent Starling for a moment and she cleared her throat slightly , reprimanding herself for being...herself. She straightened her suit's skirt in thought as she neared her doorway , and clenched the briefcase at her side before stopping outside of it. Starling fixed her hair and , hand on the door knob , bravely stepped where no sane woman had stepped before.
Right into the freakin' Lion's den.
The many agents seated around a large table raised their eyes to her , and Clarice looked away as she stepped in further and began to walk around the table to her seat. A few pairs of eyes watched , and Pearsall cleared his throat. Immediately , they looked away and he slid a folder towards Clarice as she sat down.
"Thank you for joining us , Starling. I thought it would be important enough for your time."
She nodded and took the folder into her hands. Pearsall rose from his chair and addressed the meeting in a loud , confident voice.
"Gentleman," He began , not even glancing at Clarice who shifted uncomfortably. "As you know , we have discovered a new series of murders in the New York City area. Presumably , you have all been called here due to the simularities , if you will , between these murders and the infamous killings of Hannibal Lecter."
A few agents bobbed their heads in agreement , and Clarice sighed to herself. Lecter. Always Lecter.
"If you will please open your folders , you will see the very first victims..."
Clarice tuned him out quickly. She began to rifle through the case file inside. It was basically filled with pictures , all of women and men mutilated in some horrible fashion. But , the strange thing was , they all had been recreated in a Lecter style. A copy cat.
She looked back to Pearsall , deeply intrigued.
"Every one was found with the same thing. The word 'Hannibal' carved somewhere , and a written stanza of Poe's 'The Raven'. Forenzics had repeatedly checked for finger prints and DNA...but sadly enough there was none to be found. We are afraid , gentleman , that this may become a real problem. This person is recreating Lecter's murders from the very beginning...there were too many to be known."
Clarice looked back to her file , and the tortured eyes of a young woman stared back at her. Her shoulders were both ripped apart , and the word 'Hannibal' was engraved into her forehead.
"Damn right." she muttered.
Hannibal Lecter himself stare over the papers spread before him. Oh , Lovely. He remarked bitterly , five different issues of various american papers all showed the new New York Murders. The killer was being dubbed "The Raven" by the headlines , and had killed 12 so far.
Doctor Lecter was most displeased by this information. 12 murders , all copy catting his , had occured and they never tied them together to a certain person? His faith in the american law enforcement , though never strong before , had weakened considerably and he folded up his papers.
Poor Clarice , he reasoned. They probably have put her on this case for fun. And only a few months since out special supper...Poor Clarice.
Hannibal stood from his kitchen table and lay the papers down in their folded stack , turning away to head in the direction of the study. Yes , it would be the appropriate time to contact his Clarice...
Calandra Knott strode down the side-walk , her small , evened strides sounding dully on the pavement as the others. The afternoon was coming to a close in the fridgid wintery air. She squinted against the western setting sun towards the shilloettes of many scy scrapers against the sky , and immediately noted the gap in the sky line that had been missing ever since September 11 : she quickly forgot.
Just outside of Queens , Calandra was confident in her strides of the familiarity of this area. She had lived on the other side of New York for her entire life , and had been here in Queens attending college for maybe three years now. Studying to become a language arts teacher , eventually proffessor , at 22 , Calandra considered herself well taught and in tune with the world around her. She even attended a film making class for extra , and in social status she had many friends and aquantiences. Life was good.
Calandra , tugging the strap of her book bag further up on her shoulder , flashed a flirtacious smile to a passing horde of college town boys. They gratefully responded , and she passed on , the spring in her step allowing her soft auburn hair to fly at it wished. She reached the gate of the park she had been cutting through , and broke away from the tranquility of shrubbery and leaveless trees to the city sidewalks once again. She rushed across the street , and towards the Metro on the other side.
She had arrived home without much difficulty. Her ride on the trains had been fairly pleasant , and now , in the safety of her own small home , Calandra was at ease. The daughter of two very wealthy parents , she had been honoured with her own house , and was grateful for it. Things were so much easier to do here.
She had just gotten in the door , and it was already dark outside.
Calandra shivered to herself and pulling her snowy gloves off of her hands , dumping her backpack by the door.
"Cold , cold , cold..." she muttered to the empty house , dancing around momentarily.
Calandra removed her coat and dumped it on the rack , stretching at the sudden loss of so much extra weight on her body. For her age , she was still rather thin , very attractive to the male population , and appeared to be one for fashion , style. But this was not to say she was obsessive , no , there were many very strange things to be said about Calandra. Those who would say them could not.
It was with some murmering , much cursing , and a few bouts of clumsiness , that She had managed to make it into the living room with a cup of coffee , sipping on it like a life source. Calandra gathered herself in front of the television and flipped it on , the flourescent glow giving her comfort in the lonely rooms.
Soap opera...romance...action...Horror...no , wait , turn back to that...okay , nevermind...
She vetoed all other choices then and turned to quite possibly the most boring channel possible ; CNN. Calandra remained standing in front of the television to watch , and was delighted to see that it displayed a picture of Hannibal Lecter.
"...Authorities believe that this is not the work of Doctor Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter , but rather of a fan.
They have concluded that the killer is not in fact eating the victims , as their 'missing appendengages' tend to show back up in a finding. Police in the Manhattan area have alerted all citizens , especially the young women , to keep aware as Doctor Lecter is extremely..."
Calandra cut the announcer off with a slow "Blah , Blah,Blah..." and then halted on thought.
"Oh! Yes! I completely forgot!" she suddenly looked worried , but not for the picture across her screen. Calandra turned this off quickly and began to rush about repeating her mantra of "Oh! Ooooh!"
Gathering up her things , Calandra turned to the basement door and opened it , beginning to descend the stairs into darkness.
As she stepped , though , the sound of heavy breathing began aparent , occasionally it would trip as if a choking.. Sobs.
"Shhh...." Calandra crooned softly to the blackness. Nothing was visible now , save for a small sliver of light creeping down the wooden stairs as if it had tried to reach out to the basement , but failed.
She held a small bag at her side , and as she descended further into the basement the sobs became louder , and she slowly began to pull on a pair of sanitary cloves.
"Quiet , please." Calandra instructed to the noise , and it began to die down just slightly , replaced by hiccups.
The room was suddenly illuminated in the dim light of only two lamps , and the sight was shocking ; very unexpected to be seen here , or anywhere for that matter.
Against the wall , was what could of passed as a dignified , young man. Now he was simply another broken victim , and appeared very frightened.
Brown hair tousselled , eyes red , tears worn out and the stains on his cheeks to prove it , the young man was , in simple , a wreck. Tethered to the wall by two four old pairs of hand cuffs , he had the traditional strip of duct tape over his mouth , halfway fallen off. Calandra appeared displeased.
"Oh , Brian." she scolded , as if a mother to a young child , and stepped forward to take her spidery hands to his face.
Instead of being comforted , "Brian" flinched away and she only smiled lightly , pulling the duct tape away from his mouth. He opened his mouth to say something , and Calandra stuck a finger to his lips.
"No , I did warn you. I will kill you much sooner if you even try to scream."
He stopped, and she smiled wider , fishing around in her bag , at first extracting a can opener.
"I brought you a present , Brian. I do hope you enjoy it , as I know that things own here are rather miserable for you." Calandra began fluidly , her voice light and movements swift as she turned and lay the can opener on a stand against the opposite wall. A few groaning noises were heard behind her , and then the scratchy sound of his unused voice as Brian finally spoke up , albeit quietly.
"Please , I've begged you...Let me go. What are you trying to do to me?" his voice was tearful , and Calandra slipped her eyelids over the hazel orbs as he continued. "I have been in here for days , with no light."
She sighed deeply , opening her eyes once more as she finally extracted a can and a fork from inside the bag at her side. The can read "Italian Green Beans"
"Brian , please be patient. You will be free soon enough , alright? Would you like to go much sooner?"
Calandra turned and walked gracefully back to him , can opened and a fork in her hand. He stare at her widely.
"Well?"
Brian nodded deftly after a brief moment of considering his options , and she smiled cheerfully.
"Good boy. Now , eat your supper and then we can talk , hmm?"
It was rather humorous , Calandra supposed , standing in her damp basement spoon feeding such a once handsome man green beans. But , irony was her forte. She raised the can , void of all except for the water the vegetables had been packaged in , and tipped it to his lips ; Brian drunk it in invitingly.
"No , no , no" she muttered , as water dribbled down his chin onto his already wet , with sweat , shirt.
Ca;andra pulled it away , and he composed himself , or as much that was allowed in handcuffs and chains.
"Now , to let you go , yes?"
"Yes." he answered immediately
"Alright...sure."
Calandra took his chin under her spidery hand for a moment , and smiled , dropping her hand away and sweeping back over to the table , to her bag.
"You know , others have been very , very worse off than yourself. They have suffered much worse torturers than being locked in my basement. What happenned to being a big boy , Brian?"
She turned to him , and he was clearly distraght to see not only the keys in her hand , but a small , short steak knife.
He wiggled violently as she approached him , and tried to jerk his body back from her touch as she pocketed the knife and advanced on him with the key.
"No...I'll stay...I'll stay here..."
"Brian," Calandra smiled , voice light as ever. "You know , and I know , that this is a painful torture. You can not stand this seclusion , it is very damaging to your psychological health. So I will cure."
She slowly uncuffed his feet first , and was glad that he had not tried to kick her , so she moved her attention to his hands. Once free , Brian immediately dived for his captor , knocking her backwards slightly.
Racing into the next room , Brian shot for the basement stairs but almost instantly he felt her hands on his back , and fell forward onto the stairs in front of him.
Calandra , positioned on his back and Brian face first into the staircase , was dissapointed to find that it did not render him unconcious.
"Pity..." she muttered , leaning close to his ear as he stopped struggling , breath heavy. "We could of had so much fun together."
So it was with great speed , and great fluidity , that the steak knive slid from the center of Brian's high neck , to his lower back , nerves and brain stem severed.
"There you go." she said , voice full of satisfaction as she rose from his body , and the last few strangled grunts echoed from his mouth. "God rest your soul."
And then he was gone , body lifeless and blood beginning to seep through the straight , clean cut.
"I must say , I am better at this than I give myself credit for." Calandra muttered to herself.
She leaned on the banister of the stairs , staring down at his body in thought for a moment , before sighing slightly.
"You know , It's terribly high cholesterol...But I wonder what a bit of meat would taste like. Just this once."
Calandra smirked lightly , and turned , side stepping Brian's dead body to retrieve a pot from upstairs.
A..N.- I FINALLY wrote a murder story! One that will eventually develop gore! Geez...I'm growing up! Tell me whatyou think , people , I know the beginning was rather poorly written but that was due to the fact that I had started writing it when I was rather sick , and now I finished in a good mood. Joy! And this chapter is finished! Tell me what you think!
-Raven