Cancel the previous AN, this story will be short, with very short chapters. I don't want this turning into a massive story like all my others, so it will be a short.

Due to the fact that I have far too much work to do, this story will be a short one in order to get this out into the world. My novels-length fictions breach 3000 words per chapter in many cases, but this is my first short-story. Thanks to the two who reviewed!

Big timelapse here…

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Chapter 2

The Shadow in the Night

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October 24, 1937

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Four entire days had passed with no sign of any madman on the loose, and not a single clue as to what had transpired in that dark alley other than a body, and half a body at that. Holmes sat in a wicker chair looking out the window at the faint drizzle that tapped a steady rhythm on the glass. It had been a long day searching through the alleyways for any sign of the murderer, but there was nothing other than what appeared to be a very misshapen snake skin. Nothing more.

There was a faint knock at his door and Holmes stood, slowly moving down the stairs and towards the door, opening it to see Mr. Yutani on the step. The young man was a little distraught and fidgeted nervously.

"Mr. Holmes, I must get to the point." He said, not trying to enter. "Something happened a scant two hours ago to an assistant of mine who was searching the area around the murder for signs of where the killer had gone. We found his body a little while ago as the sun set." The rain began to fall harder. "Or, rather, most of his body. All that was left were his legs, the rest was gone. I have a team of three to take you down to the site to find out what you can."

"This man is beginning to become more than a killer."

"Pardon?"

"He is more than a killer now." Holmes said as he stepped outside and closed the door. "He is now a terror in the night. If word gets around the city that a man is killing so brutally, the public will be very uncomfortable."

"That is why we need you."

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The night closed in quickly, as did the storm. It was raining very heavily, and Holmes was now soaked. But he would not let rain stop him from bringing this madman to justice. He would go through the mightiest of storms to pursue this villain, and to the ends of the earth to bring him down. There were three men by him, leading him down the twisting alleyways that were so dark only a single lantern allowed anything to be seen. Lightning helped some, but it was not enough.

The group soon came upon a spot where bloody water pooled. The others looked around at each other in confusion. "I swear, the body was here a little while ago." The man with the lantern said. "Charles, go see if there's a dog that dragged it off." Another man nodded, taking off into the rain. "Mr. Holmes?"

"Yes?"

"I do believe we may have a much more serious problem than we thought." The man with the lantern said. "This is not the first time men have been killed like this."

"It isn't?" Holmes was actually surprised; the thought that this had happened before had not crossed his tangled mind.

"It is actually the-" A loud scream tore into the night and all turned towards where Charles had run. He came out of the rain and into the lantern-light, then tripped and sprawled to the ground. There was a growl as something grabbed him by his hidden legs, and he was dragged out of sight. "Damn!"

"Charles!" The other man yelled. "Charles!"

"Charles!" There was a gurgle behind Holmes and he turned to see the man with the lantern being grabbed by something to fast to see, lifted into the air and out of sight. There was a chilling scream, and then a bit of blood rained down onto Holmes face. It was only now that he felt afraid. The lantern fell from the sky and shattered on the ground, going out before it exploded. Now all was dark, and Holmes felt the other man grab his shoulder.

"What are we going to do?!" He yelled. "We have to get out of here!"

"Come, this way." Holmes said, and tried to pull away, but the hand tightened on his shoulder. He turned to see the dim face of the man…with a black blade extending from his forehead, thrust forward from the back of the skull. The man dropped as the knife was removed, and a dark shape came into a hazy focus. It was a little larger than him, and very dark.

Lightning flashed then, and for a startling second he could clearly see what it was that had taken them so swiftly. It was black as the blackest night. No, blacker; as black as death itself, skeletal and hard. It was shiny and tough, like an insect. Its head was domed and oblong, and it had a tail that whipped forward to show a blade on the end, the one who had killed the man. It was like a walking skeleton, and most certainly not human.

It drew forward in the darkness as the light flickered out of existence, and Holmes could see it had no eyes. Yet, it still saw him, and its black lips parted to show silver-gray teeth that were like razors. They too parted and Holmes found himself gazing into its maw, slime dripping onto him as it hung above him, seemingly suspended in the air. Inside its mouth another set of jaws snapped forward, teeth clicking an inch from his nose. It let out an unholy shriek like that of some infernal demon calling to the souls of the damned. It was death in tangible form.

For the first time in many, many years, Holmes knew fear. He saw death before him, ready to lash out and steal his breath away from him, and he knew it would do just that. This was no human, it could not be reasoned with; it was a cold-hearted killer, and would do away with him as easily as a man would kill a small worm. The inner jaws snapped back and the creature hissed, grabbing the dead man on the ground with its long, skeleton-like hands. It rose out of sight into the darkness of the alley, and when the lightning flashed again there was no sign of it.

Holmes ran through the twisting alleyways, not daring to look back to see if he was being followed. He knew he was.