Prologue
10:40 p.m. Paprika Island
Night is drenched over the otherwise bright and jovial Paprika Island, located south of the Green Hill Zone. The air outside is nice and cool compared to the tropical heat it experiences during the day. The streetlights have been on for quite a while. Civilians, both humans and anthros (animals with human like characteristics such as speech and thought), are safely within their homes either off to bed or up a little while longer to read a book or watch a movie. Other civilians are still out late having gone to a club or the theatre, while some are just now calling it a day and deciding to make their way back home. It is the perfect opportunity for death to deal its loathsome kiss.
In the shadows lurks a murderer. It has been roaming about the dark recesses of the island and resort for some time now. Every night, this monster stalks the lonelier parts of the region looking to end the misery of anyone foolish enough to go off on their own and often get lost on their way back home.
The murderer has been up to this crime for over a month now. Still, no one has been able to catch them to prosecute them for their atrocities. The locals have yet to come up with a possible face for this creeper. They do not know if the perpetrator is a man or a woman. They do not know what species they may be, nor do they know what their motives behind these senseless killings are. All they know is that there is a pattern to their killings: all its victims are young people ages between the ages of 14-28 who wander out on their own in the dark, secluded areas of the island.
All the victims are found eyes wide open, their bodies slashed from thighs to throat, and a strange, bloody mark left atop their foreheads in the shape of a lotus. This led to the mysterious killer being dubbed by the locals "The Clawed Lotus."
From a swinging dance club emerges a young, purple female hedgehog 22 years of age.. She waves goodbye to her friends as she leaves from the club heading towards her home. Little does she know, danger is looming behind her as she walks. The unidentified creeper lays concealed in the shadows. It watches as the lone, vulnerable female hedgehog walks off into the night. Eyes glistening with predatory delight, the lurker moves after its prey.
The hedgehog continues to walk down the sidewalk towards her home. The streetlights guide her so she can see her way through. Behind her, the shadowy stalker follows her closely. Still waiting until she's completely alone at a place where her screams cannot possibly be heard. She walks past some shrubberies that lead into the city park just a few miles away from the club. The park lays barely lit, with only a small handful of lights up. It is devoid of any life save for some crickets that chirp eerily in the background. A perfect area for the shadowed stalker to take yet another life. Slowly, the predator makes its move.
The hedgehog is growing more nervous as she walks through the vacant park. The partially dark, desolate area makes her uneasy. Feeling as though she is being followed, she turns around only to see nothing behind her. Relieved, she resumes her walk back home. But before she is able to walk any further, the killer strikes.
The poor hedgehog is suddenly yanked behind a large shrub by a force she cannot see. She is thrown to the ground in a very hard manner. She struggles to get up and run, but she cannot move due to a darkened force standing atop her. She tries to scream for help, but is quickly muffled by her attacker. The Clawed Lotus slashes its claws through her thigh. Intense pain sears through her side. The slasher then proceeds to rip across her stomach up to her throat. The hedgehog is no longer able to scream. Finally, with a murderous gleam in the eye, the killer tears the hedgehog's other side. Silencing her forever, the killer slashes her throat once more.
The killer stands up to look at his latest kill. The purple, female hedgehog lays lifeless on the ground. Her facial expression reads horror. Her eyes are wide open like the previous victims, and her torso, throat, and thighs are slashed open.
"It's missing something," the killer ponders, "But what?"
Immediately, it remembers. With some quick slashes, the killer places the mark of the lotus on the freshly deceased female hedgehog's forehead, marking that it had once again left its mark.
"Perfect!" the killer laughs to itself.
This made 33 (count 'em, 33!) victims within a month. This shadow creature feels proud of its growing number of kills. This means it is unstoppable at this point. No one has been able to find it, not even the local authorities. At this point, it is going to take a miracle for it to be caught, much less stopped.
To Be Continued…